COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – A judge is declining a new trial for a New Jersey man who was found guilty of running a nationwide prostitution ring.  U.S. District Judge James Gritzner ruled Wednesday that the evidence supported Johnelle Bell’s conviction on 12 counts of sex trafficking and interstate prostitution, and testimony from a witness who didn’t appear at trial likely wouldn’t have changed the outcome. 

Prosecutors say Bell was a pimp who ran an Arkansas-based traveling prostitution venture. He lured troubled young women to join under false promises of long-lasting relationships and coerced them through physical abuse and threats.

Prosecutors uncovered the ring after an FBI agent posed as a customer in response to prostitution ads on Backpage.com in Omaha. The federal trial took place in Iowa because the venture traveled to Des Moines.

The Atlantic Police Department reports today (Thursday), the arrest of 26-year old Jacky Ray Walters, of Atlantic. Walters was arrested on a Cass County Warrant for Delivery of a Controlled Substance. He was transported to Cass County Jail where he was booked and held pending a court appearance.

Police in Council Bluffs report one-person was injured during a motorcycle accident late Wednesday night on Interstate 29. Officials say 34-year old Chad Boehmer, of Carter Lake, was found unconscious by his crashed motorcycle near the 54-mile marker of I-29 (or near Avenue G), at around 11:50-p.m.

The cycle and Boehmer were found in the depression between the off-ramp and on ramp from Avenue G at I-29 soutbound. A preliminary investigation indicates the cycle was traveling north on I-29, when for reasons unknown, it left the road to the north. Boehmer was ejected from the cycle, which flipped several times before coming to rest.

Officials say Boehmer, who was wearing a helmet, suffered life-threatening injuries. He was transported to Creighton University Medical Center, where he was reported to be in serious condition. Authorities say alcohol is believed to be a factor in the crash, which remains under investigation.