Tuscaloosa LaQuinta Manager Charged With Human Trafficking

Shirley Sparks, 65, is currently in police custody this afternoon, after being charged with two counts of second-degree human trafficking. Sparks is the general manager of The La Quinta in on McFarland Boulevard.

The year long investigation into prostitution by Tuscaloosa Police is what led to Sparks' arrest this afternoon.

Sparks maintained her innocence by saying "This is wrong" as officers ushered her from the hotel into a waiting police car. 

The investigation into Sparks' alleged involvement began last June, when suspect James Edward Warren from Jackson, Mississippi, was arrested for two counts of human trafficking.

Authorities say that Warren had been using the LaQuinta Inn for Human Trafficking purposes for approximately 3 years. Over the past year, new evidence was unearthed by investigators, which implicated Sparks alleged involvement in the trafficking operation. Police say that Sparks benefited financially from Warren’s alleged human trafficking activities.

For more on this story read HERE