Two arrested in prostitution sting at Bentleyville hotel
From left, Ashton Hite and Michaela O’Bannion
Ashton Renee Hite
Michaela Lynn O’Bannion
Two women were arrested Saturday at a Bentleyville hotel by state police who were conducting a prostitution sting after reportedly finding an advertisement on a social website offering services.
Michaela Lynn O’Bannion, 21, of Ithaca, N.Y., was arrested on prostitution charges. She also was taken into custody as a fugitive from justice on charges of possession of marijuana and paraphernalia filed by state police in connection with a 2014 traffic stop on Interstate 81 in Lower Paxton Township, Dauphin County.
Ashton Renee Hite, 34, who state police said is homeless, was taken into custody on a warrant obtained earlier this year by sheriffs in Allegany County, Md., on a charge of theft.
Police said a member of the FBI Task Force in Moon Township arranged a meeting with O’Bannion through the social website. The two allegedly came to an agreement on a price for sexual services, and he made arrangements to meet her at the hotel, where she was taken into custody.
Both were arraigned before District Judge James Ellis and placed in Washington County jail. O’Bannion’s bond was set at $25,000 on the prostitution charge, and bond was denied on the out-of-county warrant. She faces an Oct. 28 hearing on the prostitution charge before District Judge Curtis Thompson.
Hite is in jail without bond, pending extradition to Maryland. There was no indication as to whether she also would be charged with prostitution.