PLANO, Texas — Three people from North Texas have been arrested and charged with sex trafficking crimes after and early morning FBI standoff in Plano on Monday.
The Department of Justice confirmed Wednesday that 40-year-old William McKinnley Garland, of Plano, 24-year-old Jalen Alexander Bobo from Dallas and 27-year-old Robberta Marie Khan from Euless were charged with coercion and enticement and aiding and abetting. Garland and Bobo were also charged with conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion.
The DOJ said that Plano Police conducted a years-long investigation into an alleged sex trafficking organization that investigators believe Garland was running with other people. The evidence from that investigation led investigators to believe that young women were being recruited to work for Garland as escorts, but that Garland allegedly used violence and threats of violence to force the women to perform commercial sex under his direction or at the command of people working for Garland.
Khan was released from custody, while Garland and Bobo each of detention hearings scheduled for next Tuesday.
If convicted, Garland and Bobo could receive a life sentence in federal prison. Khan could be sentenced to up to 20 years.
Neighbors were startled early Monday morning when FBI agents, assisted by the Plano Police Department, raided the home in the 2700 block of Sowerby Drive -- which quickly turned into a standoff when the occupants, including Garland and Khan, wouldn't surrender.
Neighbors said the occupants of the home often appeared "fishy." While renting the property, it was often surrounded by a carousel of lavish cars that stood out, neighbors told WFAA.
The Collin County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Garland was arrested in 2021 on four DPS warrants for theft of a firearm, but he bonded out and he was never indicted on those charges.
WFAA was able to obtain the arrest affidavits from that arrest and learned that Garland was accused of illegally purchasing weapons.
This week, multiple sources confirmed with WFAA that multiple weapons were found in the home where Garland was arrested, which is where he was living.
A neighbor told WFAA that the people who own the home started renting it out a few years ago and said they’ve noticed strange behavior at the home ever since.
Last September, Dallas Police busted a sex trafficking ring in Plano at an address just more than three miles from the home where Garland and Khan were arrested on Monday.
Lester R. Hayes Jr., the Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations Dallas, said it is not uncommon from traffickers to run their operations out of residential neighborhoods.
“Unfortunately, I’m not surprised when you see these types of operations happen in communities where feel this would never take place,” Agent Hayes said. “This takes place all across the nation, in any neighborhood around the nation. Their goal is to fly under the radar, so some of the nicer communities is where they want to go.”
HSI Dallas did not conduct this investigation, but the agency leads the North Texas Trafficking Task Force which conducts similar operations year-round.
“People know when something doesn’t seem right or when something doesn’t feel right,” Agent Hayes said. “Seeing different individuals come in and out of the house at all times in the day…at all times of the night, whether they say hello or not. Different cars coming in and out of the residence. Not a lot of activity during the day, or there’s quite a bit of activity during the day. Those types of things are the things that people should pay attention to in their neighborhoods.”
Hayes encourages people who observe odd behaviors like those in their neighborhoods to report their concerns, and he said it’s important to remember that human trafficking typically comes with other violent crimes.
“You have drugs. You will have weapons…you will have violence,” Agent Hayes said.