One Laurel man and 15 other people were arrested in a reverse prostitution sting along U.S. 1 in Jessup earlier this month, said Howard County police spokeswoman Elizabeth Schroen.

The effort marked the department's second operation in two weeks targeting those who solicit prostitutes along Route 1. An Aug. 21 sting in North Laurel resulted in the arrests of 22 men, including 12 Laurel residents.

Schroen said the roadway is a common target for prostitution stings because it is a major commercial thoroughfare and attracts a wide cross section of people. The area also draws a relatively high number of resident complaints regarding prostitution, she said.

"There's a small handful of areas where this has been a problem," Schroen said.

The suspects arrested Sept. 4 were Edgar Caballeros, 36, of Baltimore; Julio Ramos Caeser, 32, of Gaithersburg; Everardo Castillo-Esrada, 46, of Riverdale; Jose Arturo Franco Cruz, 37, of Silver Spring; Joseph Leroy Emerson, 40, of Glen Burnie; Byron Estuardo Espana-Reyes, 25, of Columbia; David Earl Faulkner, 31, of Baltimore; Adam Gonzalez-Gonzalez, 39, of Beltsville; Gonzalo Jhonny Gozman-Aranibar, 34, of Germantown; Jaun Eleazar Herrera-Romero, 21, of Montgomery Village; William Maurice Holland, 43, of Elkridge; Angel Macardio, 18, of Columbia; Ahamat Maumine, 27, of Silver Spring; Christopher Armstrong Tolley, 38, of Laurel; Carlos Santiago Vera, 36, of Ashburn; and Roy Anthony Walley, 31, of Baltimore.

The suspects were arrested after approaching female officers in plain clothes and offering them money for sex, police said.

Howard County police also conduct stings targeting prostitutes, Schroen said, but they have found the reverse operations are especially effective.

"We've had a lot of success with this type, and it has a lot of impact on prostitution," she said. "If we can deter the customers, then that also has a direct effect on prostitutes."

Schroen said the department will likely conduct another operation in the county sometime before the end of the year.

E-mail Caitlin Moran at cmoran@gazette.net.