The two women involved in a fight outside the Hotel Indigo yesterday afternoon were both part of a prostitution ring busted by FBI agents and town police at a hotel in upstate Rye Brook a week ago, according to a Westchester County newspaper report of the arrests.
Jaqulynn Vaughn, 26, of Tampa, Florida, who was charged with felony assault after allegedly running down Rita Rios, 22, of Evanston, Illinois outside the Hotel Indigo in Riverhead yesterday were among six people arrested in a sting on April 24, the Westmore News reported yesterday. They are both currently facing prostitution charges in Rye City Court as a result.
Riverhead Police said Vaughn and Rios had been fighting in the parking lot outside the Riverhead hotel before Vaughn hit the gas pedal of her rented Chevrolet Impala and ran the woman over.
Rios suffered a broken pelvis, fractured ribs and abrasions in the assault, according to charges read aloud in Riverhead Justice Court this morning. She was airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital yesterday. See prior story. Vaughn told police she thought the car was in neutral when she hit the accelerator, according to the charges.
Vaughn, who told Riverhead Town Justice Allen Smith this morning she’s lived along in a Tampa apartment complex for two years, said she works as a bartender but refused to give the name or place of her employer. She was a registered guest at the Hotel Indigo on West Main Street when the incident occurred, according to court records.
In January 2013, Vaughn was charged with prostitution in New Jersey after offering to perform a sexual act for an undercover detective in exchange for money. Vaughn had placed an online ad for her services listing the name of a Paramus hotel, where she then solicited the undercover cop. The disposition of that charge could not immediately be ascertained.
Vaughn, who spent the night in the Riverhead police lockup, appeared in court this morning wearing a black T-shirt, black leggings and black flipflops. When the judge ordered her personal belongings be brought into the courtroom so she could retrieve from her cell phone the number of the lawyer representing her in Rye City Court, police produced a clear plastic bag containing, among other things, a thick wad of cash.
The judge got the attorney, Bruce Kofsky of Stamford, Connecticut on the phone to determine if he would represent her or advise her to seek assistance from the Legal Aid Society for formal arraignment on Monday.
“Ms. Vaughn has some very serious trouble here in Riverhead,” Smith told the lawyer. Vaughn gave Riverhead Police a statement while in custody, the judge told him.
On speakerphone, Kofsky told the judge he had only met the defendant briefly in court earlier this week, when he appeared on her behalf. He then advised his client she should seek appointed counsel for the next few days and worry about hiring a private attorney later. She agreed.
Smith set bail at $25,000 and remanded Vaughn to the Suffolk County Correctional Facility in Riverside. She is due back in court on Monday.
Vaughn faces one count of assault in the second degree, a class D felony.
She was already facing a misdemeanor prostitution charge in Rye, as was Rios and three other women — two from NYC and one from Maine. A 38-year-old Brooklyn man, Fuad Azizov was charged with with promoting prostitution in the third-degree, according to the newspaper account. Azizov drove the two NYC women up to the Rye Brook hotel, dropped them off at the front door and waited in the parking lot, according to prosecutors.
Editor’s note: A criminal charge is an accusation. By law, a person charged with a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
The survival of local journalism depends on your support.
We are a small family-owned operation. You rely on us to stay informed, and we depend on you to make our work possible. Just a few dollars can help us continue to bring this important service to our community.
Support RiverheadLOCAL today.