On Oct. 5, police arrested Aldo Miranda Cota at a Steamboat Springs gas station after he allegedly paid $350 to an undercover police officer who had been responding to his text messages and phone calls over a post he saw on a website advertising sexual services offered by teenagers.

“You have more photos?” Cota asked in response to the post. “Naked?”

In an interview with two Routt County detectives following his arrest, Cota — a citizen of Mexico who possessed a valid New Mexico driver’s license — claimed his response to the website post was made on behalf of a friend.

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He acknowledged the phone he used to reply to the website post was his own, as was the money he paid to the undercover officer in the gas station parking lot — a transaction he described as a being like a “deposit for dinner and a conversation,” according to the affidavit for his arrest.

“There was no talk about dinner and conversation in the text messages,” one the detectives pointed out to Cota, according to an arrest affidavit.

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Cota’s arrest was one of three during an early October sting conducted by the Routt County Sheriff’s Office, Steamboat Springs police and the 14th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, along with federal agents with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and members of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.

Donterrius Hill, Christopher Meehan and Cota, all age 33, were arrested during the operation and charged with soliciting for child prostitution, a Class 3 felony. As their individual cases proceed independently, arrest affidavits provide detail on how the men — who all said they were visiting the area — were apprehended.

‘What room?’

Posing as an adult in charge of trafficking the girls, who were said to be 13 and 14 years old, undercover officers responded to texts from Hill inquiring about a post on a website that solicits prostitution just before midnight on Oct. 7.

According to Hill’s arrest affidavit, the officer texted him the ages of the two girls.

“Yes, that is fine,” Hill responded. “You are not the police are you?”

The affidavit says Hill agreed to pay $300 to spend one hour with one of the girls.

“Are u good in like 20-ish (minutes)?” the undercover officer asked.

“Yes, I can CashApp when I get there,” Hill replied.

A short-time later, the undercover officer met Hill outside the local hotel and provided him with a room key.

“What room?” Hill responded, according to the affidavit.

During an interview with authorities following his arrest, Hill told officers he was visiting Steamboat and did not recall texting with the undercover officer “due to drinking a half bottle of Hennessy.”

The affidavit says that, after being shown copies of the text messages he exchanged with the undercover officer, Hill admitted he “overlooked the age thing.”

The affidavit says Hill, who lives in Birmingham, Alabama, also explained why he responded to the online advertisement, telling authorities he considered venturing out to a bar but was getting ready to head home the next day.

“I mean, it was just the easy way to do it,” Hill allegedly told police.

“I apologize about my actions, but I was horny and I wanted to have sex,” he reportedly said during the interview.

‘Parked out back’

An undercover officer began texting with Meehan on Oct. 6 just after 11 p.m. Meehan had responded to the same post on the website used by the law enforcement officers and agents throughout the operation.

“Just looking for one. Can definitely do $1,000 but let me see if I can get the rest,” he texted to the number posted on the website.

The officer responding asked Meehan if he would like to meet the next day with one or both of the girls in exchange for a payment of either $1,500 or $2,000.

Later in the exchange, the undercover officer said one of the girls was 14 years old, according to affidavit. Meehan did not directly respond to the statement but said he would like to pay for three hours with one of the girls, and specified he would pay extra to have both vaginal and anal sex with her.

The following day, Meehan texted the undercover officer again and spoke with them over the phone, according to the affidavit, which says Meehan wanted to pay $800 for five hours with the girl.

The undercover officer instructed Meehan, who said he was staying at a hotel in Steamboat, to meet at a local fast food restaurant so Meehan could get a hotel room key and leave with one of the girls and a milkshake they were picking up for her.

“I am getting the milkshakes … are you here?” the officer texted Meehan.

“Yeah … I am parked out back,” Meehan responded.

Meehan then met with an undercover officer in the the fast food restaurant’s parking lot, where he handed over $800 before law enforcement moved in to arrest him while he was getting back into his truck.

During a brief police interview following his arrest, Meehan allegedly admitted that he planned to meet with one of the girls, according to the affidavit. He then refused to answer further questions.

Deported, guilty and continued

Sentences for soliciting for child prostitution in Colorado range between 4-12 years of incarceration in state prison, and $3,000 to $750,000 in possible fines.

Hill and Meehan appeared March 28 in Routt County Court, where a judge granted a continuance in Hill’s case and conditionally accepted a plea agreement reached between Meehan and the district attorney’s office.

According to a copy of his deal with the district attorney’s office, Meehan agreed to plead guilty to the felony charge of soliciting for child prostitution in exchange for a sentence with a cap of six years and no restitution. He is set to appear June 6 for a sentencing hearing. Hill is scheduled to appear again in court April 19.

According to District Attorney Matt Karzen, Cota failed to show up for his March 28 court date. Karzen said that, after Cota posted a $75,000 bond following his arrest in October, federal agents with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported Cota to Mexico.

“There is now an active warrant for his arrest,” Karzen said.