EL PASO, Texas — El Paso County sheriff's deputies nabbed an off-duty Phoenix police officer on Friday after the officer allegedly offered to pay an undercover deputy for sex.
Sheldon Czegledi, 47, was arrested as part of a weekend undercover operation conducted by sheriff's Strike Team members that also yielded 14 other arrests. The undercover deputy had been posing as a prostitute.
Sheriff's officials said Tuesday that the operation targeted areas of Montana and Alameda avenues after deputies received several complaints from residents and business owners about prostitution.
"Strike Team members took a proactive approach to investigate, arrest and deter those involved in illegal activity," said sheriff's spokeswoman Deputy Angelica Becerra.
Others arrested on suspicion of soliciting prostitution were Jose Amado Lopez, 35; Joseph Bernal Alvarado, 22; Ismael Cervantes, 51; Jose Hernandez, 54; Rodolfo Flores, 48; Edgar Morales, 25; Robert Roacho, 25; Juan Mercado, 57; Mario Guerra, 49; Marco Antonio Luna, 32; Alan David Hodson, 34; Victor Sandoval, 27; Lorenzo Sosa, 20; and Alejandro Ramirez, 36.
Sandoval also faces a charge of possessing less than 1 gram of cocaine.
According to the Arizona Republic, on Friday night Czegledi allegedly drove up to the undercover deputy in a hotel parking lot and solicited her for "sexual intercourse for a fee of $45."
He then gave the deputy a $5 deposit and told her he would return. Deputies stopped him a short time later and arrested him.
The conversation between Czegledi and the undercover deputy was apparently recorded.
A Phoenix police spokesman told the Arizona Republic that the department would begin an administrative investigation into Czegledi's arrest once they receive an official report from the El Paso County Sheriff's Office.
Czegledi has been with the Phoenix Police Department for 14 years.