Two men from Palmdale facing charges of pandering and pimping in Orange County

ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY NEWS RELEASE

Case # 17CF1377

PALMDALE FELON CHARGED WITH PANDERING SEVEN VICTIMS AND PIMPING TWO YOUNG WOMEN IN COSTA MESA AND GARDEN GROVE

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A Palmdale felon is facing additional charges for pandering seven victims and pimping two young women in Costa Mesa and Garden Grove. His co-defendant faces initial charges in the amended complaint filed yesterday.

Defendant: Antonio Alon Johnson, 23, Palmdale

Felony Charges:

• (7) Pandering
• Pimping
• Attempted pimping
• Conspiracy to commit pimping
• Prior strike conviction: Robbery in 2013 in Los Angeles

Maximum Sentence: 29 years in state prison

Defendant: Davishawn Paul Terrell-Kennedy, 22, Palmdale

Felony Charges:

• Pandering
• Conspiracy to commit pimping

Maximum Sentence: Six years in state prison

Pre-trial hearing: June 13, 2017, 8:30 a.m. at Department C-55, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana

Circumstances of the Case

Johnson and Terrell-Kennedy are accused of being pimps who exploit women for financial gain.

Pimps often establish rigid rules their victims are expected to follow including requiring victims to speak only when spoken to, address the pimp as “Sir” or “Daddy,” assigning seats in the car based on “rank,” and setting daily quotas that the victims are expected to fulfill. The victims are required to turn over all payments they receive for sex acts from sex purchasers to their pimp. Failure to follow these rules can result in deprivation of food and/or physical and/or emotional abuse.

• Between September 2016 and June 2017, Johnson is accused of pimping 19-year-old Jane Doe 1 in areas of Orange County known for human trafficking and prostitution. The defendant is accused of posting advertisements containing sexually explicit images of the victim on websites known for soliciting commercial sex.
• On Feb. 2, 2017, the victim’s mother contacted the Costa Mesa Police Department (CMPD) to report her daughter as a potential victim of human trafficking due to contact with the victim.
  CMPD responded to a motel in Costa Mesa, located Jane Doe 1 in a room booked under the defendant’s name, and investigated this case.
• Members of the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force (OCHTTF) discovered Johnson is accused of pandering five different women to commit prostitution between November and December 2016.
• On May 19, 2017, Johnson was charged with pimping and pandering while out of custody.
  Johnson and Terrell-Kennedy are accused of pandering and conspiring to pimp 18-year-old Jane Doe 2, driving the victim from Las Vegas to Orange County to commit prostitution for their benefit.
• On June 1, 2017, OCHTTF detectives located the defendants at a motel in Garden Grove, and they are accused of leaving a room where Jane Doe 1, Jane Doe 2, and a sex purchaser were located.
• Detectives arrested the defendants at the Garden Grove motel scene.
• Johnson and Terrell-Kennedy are accused of possessing cash and other evidence of pimping.

Members of the OCHTTF and the Orange County District Attorney’s (OCDA) Office work proactively to protect women and minors from falling victim to commercial sexual exploitation. This case was investigated by OCHTTF, a partnership between Anaheim Police Department, California Highway Patrol, CMPD, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Irvine Police Department, Newport Beach Police Department, OCDA, Orange County Sheriff’s Department, Santa Ana Police Department, and community and non-profit partners.

Deputy District Attorney Kelly Manley of the HEAT Unit is prosecuting this case.

Proposition 35 and HEAT

To read more about California’s anti-human trafficking Proposition 35 and the OCDA’s Human Exploitation and Trafficking (HEAT) Unit, please visit www.orangecountyda.org and select Human Trafficking Information from the Media Center drop down menu.

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TONY RACKAUCKAS, District Attorney

Susan Kang Schroeder, Chief of Staff
Office: 714-347-8408
Cell: 714-292-2718

Michelle Van Der Linden,Spokesperson
Office: 714-347-8405
Cell: 714-323-4486