Six people have been arrested in connection with a human trafficking and kidnapping investigation in Gulfport, according to the Gulfport Police Department.
The arrests, made between Jan. 22 and Feb. 4, stem from an investigation that began when officers responded to a complaint about a runaway juvenile. The juvenile was located safely on Jan. 22.
Authorities said Michael Eric Moses, 40, was holding the juvenile inside a hotel room against the will of her legal guardian. Officials allege the juvenile was held against her will between December 2025 and January 2026 and forced to perform sexual acts for Bobby Terrell Mills, 49. Police said Mills threatened to report her as a runaway if she refused to comply. The juvenile eventually escaped by fleeing through a window.
Mills faces charges including human trafficking, kidnapping, extortion, and forcible rape. His bond was set at $1.6 million.
Richard Sherrol Weir, 60; Marcus Alan Mann, 35; Jeffrey Devon Pruitt, 41; and Latasha Ann Smith, 27, are each charged with human trafficking. Mann also faces a kidnapping charge. Investigators said Mann and Weir facilitated the transportation and sale of the juvenile, while Pruitt and Smith transported her to multiple hotels along the Gulf Coast and in New Orleans for sexual exploitation.
Bond for Mann was set at $750,000. Bond for Moses, Weir, Pruitt, and Smith was set at $250,000 each.
The investigation remains ongoing.
