Concord man in sting operation designed to catch local sex traffickers

DUBLIN — A Concord man is wanted by police on charges of pandering and pandering after allegedly taking a sex worker to a meeting with undercover officers posing as buyers, according to court records.

Jonnie Bartholomew, 21, was charged with two felonies after a sting operation in Dublin in May, during which officers responded to online advertisements for prostitution and arranged to meet at a Dublin hotel . When Bartholomew allegedly showed up at the meeting with a woman, he was arrested.

Police said they later found evidence on Bartholomew's phone that he was teaching the woman how to prostitute herself and offered to buy her a hotel room to facilitate the prostitution. Since Bartholomew was on probation for a January drug conviction in Solano County, police searched his car and allegedly found a large cache of packets of condoms and personal lubricant.

Bartholomew failed to show up for his first court hearing on June 10 and a $100,000 warrant was issued for his arrest. He remains active, according to court records.