An alleged pimp known as “Jell-O” — accused of running a prostitution ring out of Denver strip clubs — was arrested in Houston Thursday after authorities stopped a taxi cab that he and four scantily clad woman were riding in.
Germaine “Jell-O” Wallace, 38, faces multiple felony charges in Colorado including pimping, sex assault, pandering, a weapons charge and animal cruelty, according to state court records. In May 2011,where he and a group of prostitutes were living.
Records indicate that about 10 women were required to earn a minimum of $500 a night between their legitimate stripping jobs and turning illegal tricks in back rooms.
Wallace failed to appear in court on the first day of his trial Feb. 7, said Lynn Kimbrough, spokeswoman for the Denver District Attorney’s office. A warrant was issued for his arrest.
Wednesday evening, the U.S. Marshall’s office in Houston received a call that Wallace was seen in a gentleman’s club, said Marshal Cameron Welch. The Gulf Coast Violent Offenders and Fugitive Task Force coordinated with Houston police and launched an undercover surveillance team.
Undercover units monitored several gentlemen’s clubs in Houston. Eventually authorities focused on The Golden Cup Gentleman’s Restaurant, after several girls suspected of working for Wallace were spotted inside, Welch said.
“We figured that if we find the girls we would find him,” Welch said.
Wallace used taxi cabs as his sole mode of transportation, making him extremely difficult to track, Welch said.
“This guy was so paranoid he used taxi cabs,” Welch said. “Everywhere he went, he went in a taxi cab.”
Records show that while Wallace was living in Colorado he leased several expensive cars, including a Bentley and a minivan with an image of Bugs Bunny grabbing Jessica Rabbit. The words “choose up” were scrawled along the side of the van, street slang that encourages prostitutes to choose a different pimp.
At one point Thursday, authorities saw Wallace leave a gentleman’s club in a taxi cab. He took the cab to a nearby hotel where he walked in the front door, through the lobby, out the back and into a different taxi cab.
Around 1 p.m., authorities saw Wallace leave The Golden Cup and get into a taxi cab. About 15 unmarked cars followed the cab onto Highway 290.
After a few miles, the pursuing law officers attempted to stop the cab, but the driver did notpull over.
The cab continued down the highway for several miles. Some worried that Wallace, who was said to have been armed and dangerous, was holding the cab driver at gunpoint, Welch said.
Eventually, the taxi cab pulled into a car sales lot.
“I think there were more police cars there than in the dealership,” Welch said.
After authorities surrounded the taxi cab, four strippers got out of the car ahead of Wallace. Each woman had about $1,000 in her purse. Authorities questioned the women and released them.
The cab driver, who told officers he could not find a place to pull over, was also released.
Wallace told a reporter with the Houston television station KHOU that he was not a pimp.
“I don’t deal with prostitutes, I deal with dancers,” Wallace told the KHOU reporter. “That’s not against the law.”
Wallace was booked into the Harris County Jail in Houston, Welch said. He appeared in court this morning. It is not yet known when Wallace will return to Colorado.
Jordan Steffen: 303-954-1794 or jsteffen@denverpost.com
Staff Reporter Jessica Fender contributed to this report.
