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Police looking for man tied to human trafficking in Columbus

Police are looking for a man tied to human trafficking in the city of Columbus after arresting two of his associates.
Police arrest man in connection with human trafficking (Columbus Police/Facebook)

COLUMBUS – Police are looking for a man tied to human trafficking in the city of Columbus after arresting two of his associates.

Andrew Harris – also known as Bobby Eric Smith and Jamaican Rick – is wanted by the Community Response Team for allegedly leading an illegal enterprise involving a pattern of corrupt activity and human trafficking.

Police say Jamaican Rick and his associates, Mark J. Amicon and Kevin T. King, promoted prostitution by using the website Backpage.com. They compelled women to commit commercial sex acts through extreme violence and exploitation of their heroin addictions.

In one incident, a woman was tortured with a blowtorch after refusing to perform numerous sex acts.

Andrew Harris (Jamaican Rick) has been charged with 13 felonies in Franklin County Common Pleas Court and a warrant has been issued for his arrest.

Amicon was been charged with five felonies and was given $200,000 in bonds. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. His next court date has not been set.

King also was charged with five felonies and was given $200,000 in bonds. He has pleaded guilty to all charges and his next court date has not been set.

If you have any info on Harris' whereabouts, contact Det. Boyle at cboyle@columbuspolice.org or Crime Stoppers at 614-461-8477 or http://stopcrime.org/

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