Human Trafficking Suspects Caught, May be More Victims

Two men have been arrested as suspects in human trafficking of women, who were kidnapped in Long Beach and forced into prostitution before they escaped in Culver City, police said.

And detectives suspect there are more victims of the same crimes.

Two captives prompted the investigation May 15 when they told police they fled from a pair that had kidnapped them in Long Beach and forced them into sex for hire in Los Angeles and Orange counties, said the Long Beach Police Department.

It was not clear where the women were held but they escaped their captors in Culver City, and made their way to Hawthorne, where they went to police. Hawthorne police called Long Beach detectives, the department said in a news release.
   Detectives in the Vice Investigations Detail, the Sex Crimes Detail, the Juvenile Investigations Section, and patrol officers worked together on the case. 

Investigators allegedly learned "that one of the two victims had been held against her will for as long as approximately four months," Long Beach police said in a press statement. "During the time they were held, they were forced to perform acts of prostitution throughout Los Angeles and Orange Counties, and one of them was sexually assaulted by one of the suspects.  The investigation also led Long Beach Police to the City of Inglewood, where they located a 16-year-old female victim who was found at a motel."

Two suspects were arrested about 7 p.m. May 16 during a traffic stop near Pine Avenue and Bay Street in Long Beach, said LBPD's news announcement, made Friday. The L.A. District Attorney's Office on May 20 filed nine felony charges Lebrette Winn, 22, and two felonies against Eric Avery, 24. Both men are Long Beach residents. 

The felony counts include human trafficking, pimping, pandering, mayhem, kidnapping, and other charges relating to sexually based offenses. A preliminary hearing is set for the suspects June 4 in Long Beach's Superior Court.

Other victims of human trafficking may contact the Long Beach Police Department’s Vice Investigations Detail at (562) 570-7219.