Laurel Men Arrested in Prostitution Ring

Howard County police last week arrested two Laurel men and six others for their involvement in a prostitution ring near Route 1.

According to police, Jose Antonio Malagon-Vega, 26, of Laurel, and Owen Collin Wright, 35, of Laurel, were among eight men who were arrested and charged with solicitation of prostitution on Friday.

Howard County police used female officers to arrest the men by utilizing reverse prostitution. Others arrested and charged include:

• Michael Eddie Crew, 50, of Owings Mills
• James Shannon Mahoney, 41, of Severn
• Bienvenu Koungue Mouafo, 49, of Potomac
• Anthony Luis Padilla, 42, of Chesapeake
• Ronald Shaw, 46, of Washington, D.C.
• Taurus D. Wheeler, 31, of Upper Marlboro was charged with human trafficking for attempting to hire a female officer to work for him as a prostitute. Wheeler initially provided a false name to police and was also charged with making a false statement to an officer.