Six Arrested in Gulfport Human Trafficking and Kidnapping Investigation

GULFPORT, Miss. (BuzzReport) — Six individuals have been arrested in connection with a human trafficking and kidnapping investigation involving a juvenile, according to the Gulfport Police Department.

The arrests were made between Jan. 22 and Feb. 4 following an investigation that began with a report of a runaway juvenile. Police said officers located the juvenile safely on Jan. 22.

Authorities allege that 40-year-old Michael Eric Moses held the juvenile inside a hotel room against the will of her legal guardian. Investigators said the juvenile was held against her will between December 2025 and January 2026.

According to police, the juvenile was forced to perform sexual acts for 49-year-old Bobby Terrell Mills. Investigators allege Mills threatened to report the juvenile as a runaway if she refused to comply. The juvenile was able to escape by fleeing through a hotel window, police said.

Mills was arrested and later told detectives that two individuals transported the juvenile to him and offered to sell her for approximately $30 and drugs, according to investigators. Police identified those individuals as 35-year-old Marcus Alan Mann and 60-year-old Richard Sherrol Weir, who are accused of facilitating the transportation and sale of the juvenile.

Authorities further allege that 41-year-old Jeffrey Devon Pruitt and 27-year-old Latasha Ann Smith transported the juvenile to multiple hotels across the Mississippi Gulf Coast and in New Orleans for the purpose of engaging in sexual acts for profit.

The following charges have been filed in the case:

• Michael Eric Moses, 40: One count of kidnapping
• Bobby Terrell Mills, 49: One count of human trafficking, one count of kidnapping, one count of extortion, and one count of forcible rape
• Richard Sherrol Weir, 60: One count of human trafficking
• Marcus Alan Mann, 35: One count of human trafficking and one count of kidnapping
• Jeffrey Devon Pruitt, 41: One count of human trafficking
• Latasha Ann Smith, 27: One count of human trafficking

Bond for Mills was set at $1.6 million. Mann’s bond was set at $750,000. Bond for Moses, Weir, Pruitt, and Smith was set at $250,000 each.

The investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with information related to the case is urged to contact the Gulfport Police Department at 228-868-5959 or Mississippi Coast Crime Stoppers at 877-787-5898.