Lonnie Latham - 2006 Arrest

2006 Arrest

On Tuesday, January 3, 2006, Latham was arrested and booked into the Oklahoma County Jail by members of the Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office. The misdemeanor charge was that of "Offering to Engage In An Act of Lewdness," a charge carrying penalties of up to a year in jail and a US$2,500 fine. Reports sourced to a police department spokesman said that he had propositioned a plainclothes police officer for oral sex in an area of the community which had been the subject of public complaints of cruising related to male prostitution.

Latham was arrested around 9:45 p.m. and his automobile was impounded. The arrest took place in the parking lot of The Habana Inn. Reportedly, Latham followed a plainclothes police officer's car for several blocks, ultimately pulling up beside it. Latham told the officer that he enjoyed "a particular lewd act" and then solicited the police officer to perform the act at a room Latham said he had booked at the nearby Holiday Inn Express. Latham did not offer money in exchange, so he was not charged with soliciting prostitution.

Upon posting bail, Latham contested the charge to local television reporters, saying "I was set up. I was in the area pastoring to police."

"I was involved in a prayer ministry in that area, and I had a dialogue with police," he said, according to the website of the Daily Oklahoman newspaper. "The officer made many suggestions."

According to police officials, Latham made no mention of prayer, told the officer his name was "Luke," and said he was from Dallas and worked frequently in Oklahoma City and Tulsa.

This was not Latham's first visit to the area. Public records show that on December 2, 1998, at about 11:30 p.m., Latham was issued a traffic ticket for "failure to stop for a stop sign" at NW 39th and Frankford. This intersection is only blocks from where Latham was arrested and serves as rear access to the Habanna Inn."