FRESNO  -   A federal grand jury has returned a one-count indictment against Jatinbhai Naresh Bhakta, 29, and Roy Gene Drees, 45, both of Bakersfield, charging them with use of facilities of interstate commerce in aid of a racketeering enterprise, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced today.

According to a criminal complaint, Bhakta purchased and began operating the Desert Star Motel at 516 South Union Avenue in Bakersfield in 2015. Bhakta lived in a unit at the motel. Drees also lived at the motel and was employed as a handyman and general manager.

Since 2015, the Bakersfield Police Department has made numerous prostitution-related arrests at the property. In May 2019, an investigation confirmed that Darnell Edwards forced two minor females to engage in prostitution at the Desert Star. On Nov. 7, 2019, Edwards was indicted for sex trafficking of minors. When a search warrant was executed at the Desert Star on Jan. 22, 2021, fifteen prostitutes and three pimps were encountered. Drees and Bhakta were arrested at that time.

If convicted, the defendants face a maximum statutory penalty of up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The investigation is ongoing and is being conducted by the Bakersfield offices of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, Bakersfield Police Department, and the Parole Division of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Assistant U.S. Attorney David L. Gappa is prosecuting the case.