Drone Footage Leads To Pair's Lewdness Arrest

DECEMBER 4--An Oklahoma prosecutor has filed criminal charges against an alleged hooker and her john after a drone operated by an anti-prostitution activist recorded the pair trysting in the man’s truck.

Amanda Zolicoffer, 27, and Douglas Blansett, 75, are each facing a misdemeanor public lewdness count in connection with an incident earlier this year in Oklahoma City.

The criminal case against Zolicoffer and Blansett (seen at right) is a result of the work of Brian Bates, an Oklahoma “video vigilante” who has long recorded hookers and their clients in the act.

Bates, who runs johntv.com, was on the beat in early-March when he spotted Zolicoffer on an Oklahoma City street corner. Zolicoffer’s rap sheet includes convictions for prostitution, cocaine trafficking, larceny, and leaving the scene of an accident.

When Zolicoffer got into the truck of a suspected john, Bates tailed the vehicle until it turned down a deserted road leading to a tire yard. From an adjacent street, Bates then launched a drone and flew it above the parked Ford F-150.

As seen in the above footage--liftoff is at the 4:10 mark--the drone dropped down to within feet of the vehicle and recorded Blansett atop a splay-legged Zolicoffer in the front seat of a white pickup truck. The duo separated after Zolicoffer spotted--or heard--the drone hovering nearby.

In probable cause affidavits, an Oklahoma City police officer reported receiving the drone video from Bates. The cop noted that upon viewing the footage he confirmed Bates’s account that “Zolicoffer’s pants were off and the driver appeared to be having sexual intercourse with Zolicoffer.” Sergeant Ben Lacaze added, “Once Zolicoffer and the driver saw the drone, they immediately ceased their activity and left the area.”

Lacaze, who is assigned to the Vice Enforcement Unit, reported that he was “familiar with Zolicoffer and her involvement in prostitution related activity,” adding that she had distinctive facial tattoos that were visible in the drone video. Zolicoffer’s extensive ink includes a tattoo on her right arm that depicts praying hands with the words “Baby Gangster.”

Oklahoma City cops last month arrested Zolicoffer and Blansett for public lewdness. Both have pleaded not guilty to the charge and are free on $500 bond.

According to court records, Zolicoffer is also facing an unrelated receiving stolen property charge, while Blansett has been charged with public lewdness stemming from a July encounter with a second convicted prostitute (an act that was also videotaped by Bates). (5 pages)