Suspect held in sex trafficking investigation

EVERETT — The woman told police she just wanted to go home to California.

Instead, she said, her pimp forced her to stay and work in Everett.

The suspect was arrested in the 1400 block of Everett Mall Way for investigation of sex trafficking Sunday after police received a report of a woman being assaulted.

The woman, 20, told police that she was hit several times while in a car at a parking lot after telling her pimp she didn’t want to work as a prostitute on Evergreen Way.

She said the man, 25, became angry and began punching her. She told police that she tried to escape from the passenger door, but the suspect grabbed her and sped up. Later, she said, the man shoved her out of the car, which she estimated was moving up to 20 mph.

The woman reported pain in her hip and legs from falling out of the car. She was also sore in her arm and shoulders from the punches.

She “started to take off her coat to look and then said that she had a lot of bruises from prior assaults by (the suspect) and she wouldn’t be able to tell what was from this assault,” police wrote in a report.

The woman said that she first met the man in San Bernardino, Calif., and worked for him as a prostitute in several cities in that state.

He reportedly brought her to Washington on a Greyhound bus to buy a car. He allegedly told her they would return to California after buying the car, a 1995 black BMW.

After purchasing the car, the suspect told her that she would have to work as a prostitute in Washington, court papers said. He also reportedly enrolled at a local community college.

Police said the man had $740 in cash when he was arrested.

Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446; stevick@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Girl, 11, missing from Lynnwood

Sha’niece Watson’s family is concerned for her safety, according to the sheriff’s office. She has ties to Whidbey Island.

A cyclist crosses the road near the proposed site of a new park, left, at the intersection of Holly Drive and 100th Street SW on Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett to use $2.2M for Holly neighborhood’s first park

The new park is set to double as a stormwater facility at the southeast corner of Holly Drive and 100th Street SW.

The Grand Avenue Park Bridge elevator after someone set off a fire extinguisher in the elevator last week, damaging the cables and brakes. (Photo provided by the City of Everett)
Grand Avenue Park Bridge vandalized, out of service at least a week

Repairs could cost $5,500 after someone set off a fire extinguisher in the elevator on April 27.

Lynnwood
Car hits pedestrian pushing stroller in Lynnwood, injuring baby, adult

The person was pushing a stroller on 67th Place W, where there are no sidewalks, when a car hit them from behind, police said.

Snohomish County Courthouse. (Herald file)
Everett substitute judge faces discipline for forged ‘joke’ document

David Ruzumna, a judge pro tem, said it was part of a running gag with a parking attendant. The Commission on Judicial Conduct wasn’t laughing.

Boeing firefighters union members and supporters hold an informational picket at Airport Road and Kasch Park Road on Monday, April 29, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Biden weighs in on Boeing lockout of firefighters in Everett, elsewhere

On Thursday, the president expressed support for the firefighters, saying he was “concerned” Boeing had locked them out over the weekend.

Marysville
Marysville high school office manager charged with sex abuse of student

Carmen Phillips, 37, sent explicit messages to a teen at Heritage High School, then took him to a park, according to new charges.

Bothell
1 dead after fatal motorcycle crash on Highway 527

Ronald Lozada was riding south when he crashed into a car turning onto the highway north of Bothell. He later died.

Riaz Khan finally won office in 2019 on his fifth try. Now he’s running for state Legislature. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)
Ex-Democratic leader from Mukilteo switches parties for state House run

Riaz Khan resigned from the 21st Legislative District Democrats and registered to run as a Republican, challenging Rep. Strom Peterson.

Tlingit Artist Fred Fulmer points to some of the texture work he did on his information totem pole on Wednesday, May 8, 2024, at his home in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
11-foot totem pole, carved in Everett, took 35 years to make — or 650

The pole crafted by Fred Fulmer is bound for Alaska, in what will be a bittersweet sendoff Saturday in his backyard.

Shirley Sutton
Sutton resigns from Lynnwood council, ‘effective immediately’

Part of Sutton’s reason was her “overwhelming desire” to return home to the Yakima Valley.

Vehicles turn onto the ramp to head north on I-5 from 41st Street in the afternoon on Friday, June 2, 2023, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Northbound I-5 gets squeezed this weekend in Everett

I-5 north will be down to one lane starting Friday. The closure is part of a project to add a carpool lane from Everett to Marysville.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.