12 arrested in Clearwater prostitution sweep

CLEARWATER — Clearwater police arrested 12 people in a prostitution sting in the East Gateway area Wednesday.

One of the women, 31-year-old Jovanny Perez, was arrested on a felony charge of prostitution while HIV-positive.

Perez, who knows she is HIV-positive, exposed her breasts, grabbed the genitals of an undercover detective and offered to perform sex acts in exchange for $30, according to an arrest report.

On Thursday evening, she was being held in Pinellas County Jail in lieu of $5,000 bail.

Court records show Perez has previous convictions for sale and possession of cocaine and solicitation of prostitution.

Arrested Wednesday on a charge of felony solicitation of prostitution were Toni Vinci, 44, and Stephanie Blanton, 42.

A solicitation charge is upgraded to a felony if the suspect has two or more previous convictions.

Arrested on a charge of misdemeanor solicitation of prostitution were: Tabitha Stewart, 21; Linda Bosack, 57; Tammy Hayes, 46; Shatia Filer, 30; Thomas Burgess, 42; Hariklia Douklias, 44; Andrea Tallent, 45; Danielle Hansen, 41; and Jill Chartrand, 43.

Stewart and Bosack were also charged with possession of drug paraphernalia. Filer was also charged with resisting arrest without violence. And Douklias was also arrested on a warrant for failure to appear on a prostitution charge.

The East Gateway area is south of Drew Street and north of Court Street, between Missouri and Highland avenues.