Police arrest trio in attempted robbery of undercover officer

Authorities on Monday arrested a trio of men they say tried to rob an undercover officer who was posing as a sex worker as part of a humantrafficking sting.

The men — identified as 22-year-old Ahmad Altamimi, 18-year-old Gilbert Gaeta and 18-year-old Nehemiah Jimenez — solicited the officer and arrived at an arranged meeting armed with weapons including a stun gun, according to the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office.

The sheriff’s office said one of the men remained in a vehicle as part of the alleged robbery plot.

The robbery plot was foiled by a team of investigators with the Law Enforcement to End Human Trafficking, or LEIHT Task Force. The men were arrested and booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail.

Altamimi is out on bail, but Gaeta and Jimenez were still in custody as of Thursday afternoon.

Authorities said they believe the men may be responsible for other armed robberies of prostitutes.

The sheriff’s office also arrested 19 johns in connection with the sting, which was carried out in conjunction with the Milpitas Police Department, Santa Clara County Probation Department and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

The mission of the LEIHT Task Force is to recover and reintegrate victims of human trafficking, as well as prosecute abusers, according to the sheriff’s office. It consists of investigators from the sheriff’s and district attorney’s offices and a prosecuting deputy district attorney.

Anyone with information about armed robberies of sex workers or human trafficking cases in Santa Clara County can contact the LEIHT Task Force at 408-918-4960 or humantrafficking@shf.sccgov.org. Contact Jason Green at 408-920-5006.