TEXARKANA -- A federal search warrant unsealed last week sheds light on an investigation that began in February 2015 into underage prostitution and drug distribution in Texarkana.
The search warrant affidavit, filed Jan. 6 and unsealed Tuesday in the Texarkana Division of the Western District of Arkansas, alleges that the FBI received information from "multiple sources" that Jamie Yates, 44, also known as "Phatboy," was using his Facebook account to recruit girls to work as prostitutes in motel rooms in Texarkana, Texas, and Texarkana, Ark., "where he harbored the minors and provided them with food and drugs."
A source identified in the affidavit as "Minor Victim 1, age 17" reportedly told investigators that Yates attempted to recruit her as a prostitute through Facebook messaging. The girl reported that Yates gave her a place to stay in a motel room in Texarkana, Ark., and provided her with methamphetamine in exchange for sex, the affidavit says.
"During this time he encouraged her to engage in prostitution and communicated with her via their online Facebook accounts," the affidavit states. "MV1 stated to law enforcement that she deleted her messages with Yates to prevent her parents from finding the messages."
A girl identified as "Minor Victim 2," told investigators that she was "harbored" by Yates when she was 16 and working as a prostitute and described Yates as her "provider," according to the affidavit. The girl reported that she was given shelter, food and methamphetamine during the time she was selling her body in motel rooms rented by Yates, the affidavit says.
"When she received the proceeds from her prostitution, she stated that, 'Phatboy always needed it for something,' and she, 'felt obligated to give it to him,'" the affidavit states.
A witness reportedly told investigators of seeing the second girl give $300 in proceeds from prostitution to Yates. Minor Victim 2 said Yates drove her to motel rooms in Texas and Arkansas to perform acts of prostitution, the affidavit states.
"MV2 maintained an online Facebook profile to advertise her prostitution services," the affidavit states. "MV2 also stated that Yates had sex with other minor female prostitutes in his rented motel rooms and further provided them with methamphetamine," the affidavit says.
The affidavit alleges that Yates makes reference to a group that multiple witness statements indicate to be a prostitution ring involving underage prostitutes and methamphetamine use in motel rooms in Texarkana, Ark., and Texarkana, Texas. The affidavit refers to several other minors reported to have engaged in prostitution under Yates' direction.
The affidavit asked for a court order that would require Facebook to provide records -- including messages, posts, photos and any other communications -- for six Facebook accounts associated with four girls.
Yates is currently serving a six-year prison term in the Arkansas Department of Correction. He received the sentence Nov. 30, 2015, as part of a plea bargain in Miller County on charges of possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Yates is not facing any sex-related charges, however, he is named in a federal indictment alleging conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and other crimes in the Texarkana Division of the Western District of Arkansas.
Also named in the indictment's conspiracy count is Jeremy Paul May, 33. A search warrant for property owned by May's parents in Genoa, where May lived in an outbuilding, was unsealed in February. That search warrant alleges that May cooked methamphetamine on the property and was part of the group that used social media to offer drugs to girls in exchange for sex.
Yates also is accused of attempting to coerce a person under 18 to participate in the distribution of illegal substances in March 2015. May and Yates are accused of giving methamphetamine to a person under 21 in March 2015, and May is accused of distributing methamphetamine on four dates in October and November 2015 and being a felon in possession of a handgun Jan. 13.
May is being held in the Miller County jail. In addition to the charges in his federal indictment, he is facing six counts of delivery of a controlled substance and a count of theft by receiving in Miller County. He is set for trial on those charges in December.
Yates is in an Arkansas prison in Wrightsville. He was arrested last year on a motion to revoke his probation for manufacturing or delivering methamphetamine in Miller County.
At the time of his arrest, Yates was driving his 17-year-old girlfriend's car, was in possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia, and was within 1000 feet of a school. He is serving two consecutive six-year terms.
Yates and May entered innocent pleas at separate hearings before a federal judge in July. The men are set for trial in March before U.S. District Judge Susan Hickey in Texarkana's downtown federal building.
Metro on 11/10/2016