10 People Arrested And Charged With Sex Trafficking

CALIFORNIA—On July 1, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California announced that 10 people had been arrested and face federal charges for sex trafficking children and adults through force, fraud, or coercion.

Defendants include: Cameron Lockett, a.k.a. Hesopayed, and Jankie, 23, of Anaheim; Caleed Mouton, a.k.a. Pooski and Poo, 26, of South Los Angeles; Nakhali Miller, a.k.a. FY3, 30, of South Los Angeles; Jorge Melendez, a.k.a. Crim Style, 23, of South Los Angeles; Mauricio Ulloa-Franco Junior, a.k.a. Face or Ese Face, 23, of Palmdale; Lagrane Lenox, a.k.a. Blue and King Blue, 30, of Compton; Kenny Ray Mann, a.k.a. KR, 38, of Lynwood; Kylan Young, a.k.a. K2, 23, of Buena Park; and Dejon MacDonald Williams, a.k.a. Motion and D1, 32, of South Los Angeles.

They were arrested during a series of raids as part of Operation Broken Blade, an ongoing collaboration between the Los Angeles Police Department and federal law enforcement to crack down on human trafficking and sex work.  The partnership was established on September 4, 2024, with the creation of the Figueroa Corridor Human Trafficking Initiative, named for the Figueroa Corridor, a section of Figueroa Street running from Imperial Highway to Gage Avenue.

Six suspects were arrested on July 1, are accused of membership in the Hoover Criminal Gang. Ahir is the manager of the Stadium Inn & Spas motel. He is accused of financially benefiting from the gang’s sexual trafficking from September 2024 to January 2026.  He is accused of receiving $64,581, knowing it came from the gang’s activities, and of depositing smaller amounts into accounts he opened to avoid reporting them to the U.S. government.

The remaining three defendants are being prosecuted in separate cases.

The Hoover gang started in the 1960s as the “Hoover Groovers” and operated on Hoover Street in South Los Angeles.  In the 1970s, it merged with the Crips, another street gang, and was renamed the Hoover Crips. In the 1990s, it broke its association with the Crips.

On July 1, a 65-count superseding indictment was unsealed, revealing between February 2021 and June 2026, the Hoovers oversaw sex trafficking and prostitution through their members and associates, who worked as pimps and both promoted and oversaw sex trafficking.  The indictment names 7 defendants, who face federal criminal charges, including racketeering, drug trafficking conspiracy, concealment, money laundering, sex trafficking of a minor, and sex trafficking through force, fraud, or coercion.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office indictment, the Hoover victims are minor girls and young women, and members of the gang search for new ones either through social media or face-to-face encounters. They focus on potential victims who have either been foster children, run away from home, or are facing emotional struggles or financial hardship.

Members of the Hoovers offer women and girls false promises of a luxurious lifestyle if they engage in sex work or use intimidation and violence to convince them to start doing sex work, and give them drugs, i.e., amphetamines and oxycodone, to make them addicted and be exploited.

Six defendants are alleged members of the Hoovers, who helped one another by managing their victims and forcing the girls and women to turn over all proceeds from sex work to the man acting as their pimp.  If they refused, they faced punishments such as withholding love, drugs, and food, public humiliation, or branding with a defendant’s name.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office claims the defendants collaborated financially by sharing funds to pay for room rentals and to transport victims to and from sex solicitation locations.  They also transferred money using Apple Pay and Cash App and hired an independent contractor to create online profiles for sex advertisements, with 51 victims listed in the indictment.

Lenox is accused of trafficking a minor on both Figueroa Street and in Phoenix, where, in June 2024, he produced material depicting him being intimate with the victim.  In 2024, Lockett is alleged to have beaten one of his victims by hitting her in the ribs and on the back, biting her cheek, and making her lie about the injuries when she went to get stitches.

It is alleged that Mouton trafficked three children, ages 14, 16, and 17, to obtain a fake ID for one of them so she could rent a hotel room.  In July 2025, he also ordered a pregnant girl to get an abortion and made her return to sex work. Melendez is accused of using force to sexually traffic a 14-year-old victim.  In January 2024, he punched her in the face 5 times while dragging her by her hair to punish her for not earning enough money from her commercial sex work.

Of the other three defendants, Mann was arrested on June 29, while Young and MacDonald Williams were arrested on July 1.

Mann is charged with the sex trafficking of two minors, ages 16 and 17.  It is alleged that at least one of them was trafficked through force, fraud, or coercion after she turned 18. He pleaded not guilty, and his trial will begin on August 18.

Young is charged with the sex trafficking of a 15-year-old minor through force, fraud, or coercion. Williams is charged with the sex trafficking of three victims through force, fraud, or coercion.  Among the victims, one is an adult, and the other two are minors, ages 16 and 17.

If convicted, the defendants face potential sentences ranging from 15 years in prison to life in prison. The investigation is ongoing and is being conducted by the LAPD and Homeland Security Investigations as part of the Homeland Security Task Force.