Police say man used fentanyl to force woman into sex work
The Metropolitan Police Department arrested a man on a sex trafficking charge after a woman detectives spoke to during an undercover operation said she was a victim of the crime.
Jezmyn Hays, a Las Vegas resident, was re-booked Oct. 14, as he was already in custody at the Clark County Detention Center on suspicion of pandering, police said. Pandering, or enticing or persuading another adult to engage in prostitution, is a criminal offense.
A woman whose name was redacted in police records said Hays wanted her to work as a sex worker for him in exchange for a hotel room, as she had nowhere to stay in Las Vegas.
She told police that she was addicted to fentanyl to such an extent that she needed it to function, and that Hays would provide her the drug if she worked for him. Hays’ arrest report described fentanyl as “the main control tactic Hays used to make her go to work.”
The woman told police that Hays required she share her location with him at all times, instructed her to delete their text conversations, threatened violence and demanded all the money she made.
She said Hays previously had told her he’d been in trouble for pimping before, and according to police, records show he had been convicted of pimping and pandering in California.
Hays told the woman to send him “seductive photographs” that he would use to put advertisements online to attract “potential sex buyers,” according to his arrest report.
During a search of Hays’ residence, officers also found a monkey inside a cage, according to Hays’ arrest report.
Police said animal control took possession of the monkey, as there was no one at the residence to care for the animal and it is illegal to possess an exotic animal without a license.
A photo posted to Hays’ Instagram account shows Hays walking with the monkey down Las Vegas Boulevard.
Hays also was charged with keeping an exotic animal without a permit, according to his arrest report.
Contact Estelle Atkinson at eatkinson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @estellelilym on X and @estelleatkinsonreports on Instagram.
