Bakersfield innkeeper sentenced to 4 years for participation in pimping, prostitution ring
A Bakersfield innkeeper was sentenced in federal court in Fresno yesterday for his role in a pimping operation.
Jatinbhai Naresh Bhakta, 31, of Bakersfield, was sentenced to four years and ordered to pay a forfeiture money judgment of over $1 million for using a facility of interstate commerce in aid of a racketeering enterprise, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, in 2015, Bhakta purchased and began operating the Desert Star Motel at 516 South Union Avenue in Bakersfield. Bhakta lived in a unit at the motel along iwth a co‑defendant Roy Gene Drees, 45, who was employed as a handyman and general manager.
During Bhakta’s ownership from at least 2018 to 2020, the Desert Star primarily catered to prostitutes and their actual and potential clients. Bhakta communicated with pimps by telephone and messaging applications, and would check in on prostitutes when asked to do so by the pimps.
Depending on the time of day, it was not unusual to see most, if not all, of the doors to motel rooms wide open with suspected prostitutes in lingerie standing outside, waving to drivers and approaching their vehicles. Prospective customers would park directly in front of the room of the prostitute they desired, and the prostitute would either direct them into the room immediately or meet the customer outside to arrange a deal.
The motel had up to 25 rooms availabl, most of which were occupied by prostitutes, with very few, if any, used for legitimate overnight residency. Bhakta routinely charged rates of $120-140 per room per night in cash and during the years of operation, Bhakta deposited over $1 million in cash into his bank accounts, at a typical rate of approximately $30,000 to $40,000 per month.
In May 2019, two minor females were rescued from the property after having been trafficked by Darnell Edwards, 33, of Antioch at the Desert Star. On Jan. 22, 2021, a search warrant was executed at the Desert Star, and 15 prostitutes and three pimps were encountered. Drees and Bhakta were arrested at that time.
On Nov. 10, 2022, Bhakta pleaded guilty. On May 1, 2023, Edwards was sentenced to 19 years and seven months for sex trafficking of the two minors.
Charges are pending against Drees, who is scheduled for trial on March 23, 2024.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the Bakersfield Police Department, and the Parole Division of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Assistant U.S. Attorney David L. Gappa is prosecuting the case.
