Woman Arrested for Cocaine, Promoting Prostitution After Richfield Sting

A Richfield woman has been charged with felony drug possession and promoting prostitution from her Richfield apartment.

Angela Lydia Cook, 28, is charged with third-degree drug possession, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The charge has a mandatory minimum penalty of a $75,000 fine.

Cook is also charged with solicitation, inducement and promotion of prostitution, a felony with a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a $40,000 fine.

Officers with the Richfield Police Department investigating prostitution in the city found an advertisement on Backpage.com and called the listed number, according to the criminal complaint.

The officer was offered one hour of “services” for $100, and was given Cook’s address. Investigators found numerous other ads on Backpage.com that listed the same phone number.

According to the complaint, on Dec. 11, a Richfield detective called the number and spoke to a woman who identified herself as Erika. She said she was busy and offered another woman, Brittany, and gave the detective her number.

The detective set up an appointment with Brittany and was told to go to an apartment building in the 7100 block of Cedar Avenue South. He arrived at about 4 p.m., called Brittany and was told to go to a specific apartment number, which is rented by Cook.

The detective met Brittany in the apartment, and they discussed fees. The woman told the detective that the price was $100 for her services, or $150 for “full” service, according to the complaint.

The detective produced $160 in pre-recorded bills and put it on a coffee table, and Brittany retrieved a condom and put it on the same table. The two discussed what “services” Brittany would provide, and she took off her clothes, according to the complaint.

Officers monitoring the undercover operation entered the apartment and arrested Brittany, later identified as a woman with the initials K.T.

A subsequent search of the apartment turned up multiple bags of crack cocaine weighing 3.9 grams, according to the complaint.

Cook admitted to police that she places ads on Backpage.com, telling them that she often uses her own photo in the ads, but she denied engaging in prostitution, according to the complaint. However, she said she knew that K.T. used her apartment to engage in prostitution, and that her fingerprints would be on the bags of crack cocaine, the complaint says.

Cook was released from custody on a $15,000 bond on the drug and prostitution charges, but she remains in the Hennepin County Jail on pending felony credit-card fraud charges, filed against her in August. Her next court appearance on the credit-card fraud charges is Dec. 20; an omnibus hearing on the prostitution and drug charges is scheduled Jan. 11, both in Hennepin County District Court.

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