Teacher caught up in prostitution raid on motel

Jen Lawson

Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2004 | 11:13 a.m.

A Silverado High School teacher who was moonlighting as a manager at a motel near downtown Las Vegas was cited Saturday, and another manager was arrested after a prostitution raid.

Edward Kammer, a teacher with the Clark County School District since 1998, worked as the general manager at at the Del Mar motel at 1411 Las Vegas Blvd. South, Lt. Steve Herpolsheimer of Metro Police's downtown area command said.

The motel is owned by Kammer's father-in-law, Edgar Wrenn. Neither Kammer nor Wrenn could be reached for comment.

Kammer was cited for creating a public nuisance and possession of marijuana.

The night manager of the motel was arrested on charges of aiding and abetting prostitution, running a house of ill repute, creating a public nuisance and failing to register guests.

The night manager gave an alias when he was arrested and was booked into the Las Vegas City Jail as a John Doe until police can confirm his identity.

Jamie Lea, spokeswoman for the School District, said Kammer began teaching at Silverado High School at the start of this school year.

Kammer is still employed with the district, but "he has been removed from having contact with students until the investigation is complete."

Kammer, who has been married to Wrenn's daughter since 1998, began teaching business and marketing at Horizon South High School the same year. After that he taught math at Sawyer Middle School, Lea said.

The motel where he worked was believed to be a popular place for prostitutes to take clients. Guests were given free condoms and tubes of lubrication, no proof of identification was required and rooms could be rented by the hour -- $35 per hour on weekends and $35 for two hours on weeknights, Herpolsheimer said.

After conducting surveillance on the motel for about six weeks and speaking to admitted prostitutes in the area, officers raided the motel about 3:40 a.m. Saturday, police said.

Officers searched for evidence that the owner and management staff knew that this alleged activity was taking place.

"How could the owner not know?" Herpolsheimer said. "The management had a canned response, saying they rented rooms to couples and they didn't ask any questions.

"We have some pretty compelling evidence that they knew exactly what was going on."

Herpolsheimer said that Web sites recommend the motel as a place for visitors to find sex.

Officers found thousands of condoms and tubes of lubrication -- the proprietors apparently bought the items by the case -- and a steady stream of cabs dropped off and picked up people at the motel.

"By 3 (a.m.) or 4 a.m. some of the motels (in the area) appeared to be dead, but this particular one had cabs lined up," he said. The "couples" that officers spotted in the area appeared to be mismatched, such as an older man with a few young women.

During the raid Saturday, extra patrol officers had to be called to help in stopping and identifying a large number of admitted prostitutes who were coming and going from the motel.

Of the 11 couples that were in the motel at the time, nine were engaged in prostitution, Herpolsheimer said.

Authorities are investigating whether to charge Wrenn in connection with the alleged activities at the motel. He is in his 80s and has had a business license with the city since 1971. "We believe this is a 'house of ill fame' and the owner should have known," Herpolsheimer said, using the verbatim phrase from the law.