After a loss prevention employee reported the suspected theft, the Murrieta Police Department was called to the hardware store, the department said.

As the suspect was about to get into his truck in the parking lot, he saw the officers arriving, police said. The suspect then ran back inside the Home Depot, leading officers on a chase and a game of hide and seek, officers wrote on Instagram Friday.

“Officers noticed a pair of shoes sticking up behind the Hampton Bay boxes — the most obvious place to conceal oneself,” the post read.

The man, who was not publicly identified, was taken into custody, according to the Murrieta police department.

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“Prostitution is a criminal offense, and those who seek these illegal activities contribute to an illicit underground economy both locally and throughout the State of California,” according to a department statement.

The operation focused on rescuing victims of sexual slavery and human trafficking, identifying and arresting their captors, and disrupting demand for these vulnerable victims, they said.

During the Murrieta operation, one female was identified as a human trafficking victim and accepted outreach and diversion services. Her name was removed from the below list. She was one of the 177 victims rescued in the California statewide law enforcement operation where547 were arrested and 177 people were freed from sex slavery.

Additionally, nine males were arrested for solicitation of prostitution and one male was arrested for pimping.

Arrested during the operation for solicitation of prostitution were:

• Marco Antonio Cota, 42, of Murrieta
• Angel Llano-Trinidad, 42, of Riverside
• Brian Huff, 45, of Menifee
• Charles Hoffman Polhamus III, 37, of Murrieta
• Alexandre Daniel Bogdan, 22, of Fullerton
• Mauro Martinez, 22, of Temecula
• Jeremiah Castaneda Arapeles, 45, of Murrieta
• Christopher James Funk, 29, of Norco
• Matthew Deshawn Edmonston, 29, of San Bernardino, arrested for pimping

“Prostitution is not a “victimless” crime. Human trafficking is the second largest criminal enterprise in the world,” according to a Murrieta Police Department spokesperson. “Ninety-five percent of sex trafficking victims are women or children. Those victimized by commercial sexual exploitation frequently have long histories of emotional, physical, and/or sexual abuse or trauma in their backgrounds.

“The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children estimates 1 in 6 endangered runaways reported are likely victims of sex trafficking. Sex trafficking victims are often subjected to severe forms of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse at the hands of their trafficker. Still, they are also frequently physically and sexually assaulted by those who solicit them for prostitution.”

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