Two men from the Houston area have been taken into custody in Columbus, Ohio, on accusations involving human trafficking and the compulsion of a minor into prostitution. The arrests were made after an investigative effort led to the rescue of four Texas victims, among whom was a juvenile. Click2Houston reports that the suspects, identified as Larry Hill, 26, and Timarrea Granderson, 27, are facing charges in Texas and awaiting extradition.
The joint mission to locate the suspects began when the FBI's Houston office together with the Texas Department of Public Safety reached out to Ohio authorities, signaling that a juvenile trafficking victim from Texas was suspected to be in Columbus. Following this tip, last Thursday, the Central Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force, in coordination with the Columbus Division of Police's PACT Unit, undertook a search operation which led to Granderson's arrest and the recovery of one of the victims, as detailed by Click2Houston.
Later that same day, in a turn of events, Hill was located at a Columbus residence on West Kanawha Avenue. This quickly developed into a standoff, with Hill barricading himself in the property, prompting intervention from the Columbus Police Division’s SWAT team and the Sharon Township Police Department. WBNS noted that the subsequent arrest led to two additional victims being rescued from the premises. A fourth victim was found and safely recovered at separate location.
Neighbors and local residents expressed their dismay at the events, with one neighbor quoted saying, "I said thank you Jesus you got them because you don’t do that to kids," in a statement obtained by WBNS, cited by KHOU 11. The owner of the Airbnb property used by the suspects stated that Hill and Granderson had only been at the residence for less than a day before they were apprehended.
All four victims, who hail from Texas, are now receiving necessary support services from the Central Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force.
