LAS VEGAS (FOX5) -
A convict who was arrested a year ago in an incident that revealed a prostitution operation in a Las Vegas neighborhood was sentenced to three life terms in prison.
Las Vegas Metro police announced the punishment for 48-year-old Raymond Christopher Sharp, who was arrested on July 2, 2011.
According to police, Sharp was arrested after an incident in which a partially nude woman was seen looking for help in a neighborhood in the northwest end of the city. Witnesses said Sharp had dragged the woman by the hair into a residence.
Responding officers saw the woman fleeing from Sharp's home once again and ultimately made contact with him.
Police found that the woman was one of a number of prostitutes being pandered by Sharp.
Investigators also found he had a number of weapons in his possession, which was illegal due to him being a convict.
Police arrested Sharp on charges including living with a prostitute, burglary, battery with a deadly weapon, first degree kidnapping, battery domestic violence and failure to annually verify residence as a sex offender.
Metro Vice Section's Pimp Investigation Team added charges including living off the earnings of a prostitute, coercion with force, pandering with force and assault with a deadly weapon.
Metro said Sharp was convicted on the charge of kidnapping with the use of a deadly weapon and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
He also was given two more life sentences for his conviction of other charges.
In all, he was convicted on 19 counts related to the incident as well as his pandering.
Metro police said the convictions and sentences should send a clear message to pimps in southern Nevada.
Stay tuned to FOX5 for the latest on this developing story.
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Raymond Sharp (LVMPD)
