State Patrol’s traffic stop in Bellingham leads to the arrest of a suspected pimp
A September traffic stop in Whatcom County helped the Washington State Patrol arrest a suspected pimp who allegedly managed online prostitution ads for at least one of two women he was traveling with in Bellingham.
Theodore Wright, 28, was booked into Whatcom County Jail Monday, Dec. 16, on suspicion of second-degree promoting prostitution.
The State Patrol stopped a 1999 Chevrolet Tahoe driven by Wright on Sept. 7 after it appeared to have a trip permit that had been unlawfully altered, according to Whatcom County Superior Court Documents filed Nov. 20. Two women were in the Tahoe with Wright, who said all three had stayed at a Bellingham hotel the night before.
Wright told the trooper that they had driven from Seattle to Bellingham to visit a friend named “Carl,” but documents stated Wright could not provide “Carl’s” last name or address.
The trooper spoke to one of the women alone and during the conversation noticed that she had a “crown tattoo” on her shoulder — a sign commonly used by prostitutes to indicated they are “possessed by a pimp,” according to the documents. The trooper also noted Wright had a Playboy bunny tattoo, which the documents said is consistent with a person who promotes prostitution as a pimp.
The trooper requested the assistance of a Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office K-9, which alerted to the presence of narcotics in the Tahoe, documents show.
After receiving a warrant to search the vehicle, the trooper found provocative women’s clothing, dozens of condoms, a coupon for a sexual workshop and a map of a Bellingham hotel in the vehicle and a backpack one of the women was carrying, documents state.
Troopers also located pills that field-tested positive for ecstasy, which documents said pimps sometimes provide to women working as prostitutes to keep them around.
Inside another bag in the car Troopers found more provocative clothing, pills believed to be ecstasy, a condom and a computer that when opened displayed a website related to prostitution, documents said. In addition to the computer, troopers seized a phone, and its lock screen showed a picture of Wright fanning a large quantity of money in front of him.
On Sept. 12, a trooper located online prostitution advertisements for the two women who had been traveling with Wright, court documents said. The advertisements for each woman included phone numbers that matched the numbers the women gave troopers during the traffic stop.
Troopers received a warrant to search the computer and phone on Sept. 16, and court documents said they found Wright’s Sept. 7 internet browser history included visits to numerous prostitution-related websites and the “manage my ads” page for one of the women in the vehicle.
Text messages between Wright’s phone and that woman’s phone also showed a relationship troopers believed to be promoting prostitution and spoke about changes being made to online posts, documents stated.
Troopers also contacted the Kent Police Department, which previously investigated Wright for promoting prostitution.
This story was originally published December 17, 2019 at 12:41 PM.
