9 guns, slew of drugs found in north Fort Worth home where sex trafficking ring operated
A 5-bedroom house in a far north Fort Worth neighborhood that was once the site of a sex trafficking ring was, until recently, the site of a drug and gun operation, according to a police search warrant.
Officers from multiple agencies raided the house in the Village of Woodland Springs on Feb. 18 after receiving a tip that the people inside were selling drugs and possibly running a marijuana grow operation, according to a search warrant obtained from the Grand Prairie Police Department.
Tipsters who spoke with police said they believed the occupants were also selling ecstasy and mushrooms and that there was a lot of traffic coming in and out of the house, at 12405 Yellow Wood Dr.
In 2018, the house was the scene of another police raid when Tremont Blakemore and two women were arrested and accused of being involved in a sex trafficking ring that spanned several states.
Blakemore, who was pegged by police as the ringleader of the operation, was arrested on several state charges and a year later was charged in federal court with three counts of sex trafficking. A jury trial is scheduled for October.
The house has operated as a rental property since at least 2017 and leases for almost $3,000 a month. The person who answered a phone number associated with the house hung up when asked to comment.
New drug operation
Police started watching the Yellow Wood Drive home on Valentine’s Day. Four days later, officers saw a man carrying a black backpack get into a Toyota truck and leave, according to a search warrant.
The officers pulled the driver over for an unspecified traffic violation in the 4000 block of Texas 360 in Grand Prairie, about 39 miles south, the warrant says.
A handgun and silencer was found in the man’s backpack. Police also found cocaine and $1,290 cash, according to the warrant.
Charges have not been filed against the driver in Tarrant or Dallas counties or federal court.
When questioned by police, the man said he lives at the Yellow Wood Drive house and that he had more guns and marijuana in his bedroom.
Because of that, a judge allowed officers to enter the home without announcing themselves.
Officers found five handguns, four rifles, two silencers, ballistic armor, ammunition, a sword, marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy, LSD, prescription drugs, drug paraphernalia and other items police say are related to drug operations.
The warrant did not specify how much of each drug officers found.
Sex trafficking
The Fort Worth Police Department helped execute the February search warrant on the home. They also helped in 2018 when the Dallas Police Department arrested Blakemore.
A spokesman from the Fort Worth police department said the new drug investigation is not related to the sex trafficking case.
But neighbors were quick to point out that a connection is the house itself.
Arrest documents detailing Blakemore’s alleged sex trafficking ring tell the story of a man who is a registered member of the Bloods gang and who bragged on Instagram about his wealth and women. They also tell the story of the women who had to make at least $1,000 a night having sex with clients found through advertisements posted online.
Neighbors told the Star-Telegram that expensive cars were often seen coming to and from the house.
Blakemore made his money through the 15 to 20 women he sold, police say.
Every night, he gave them a $1,000 quota before they were allowed to return home. They all got $10 a day for food, the woman who talked to police at the hospital said.
“Dates,” as the document calls them, with the women ranged from $100 for a half-hour to $250 for a full hour depending on whether the client traveled to the woman or the woman traveled to them — meaning a woman might have to have sex with 10 people in one night in order to make her quota.
If 20 women made $1,000 a night, as the documents say, Blakemore would bring in around $7.3 million a year, if the women had to work seven days a week. The woman who reported Blakemore to police said the women didn’t keep their nightly earnings.
Police found at least 1,789 online ads for sex related to Blakemore’s operation.
This story was originally published March 4, 2020 at 4:12 PM.
