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A 26-year-old woman from Las Vegas was booked into County Jail on suspicion of pimping a teenage girl. Lt. Paul McCaffrey said officers went to the Quality Inn at 3055 State St. about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday to investigate a disturbance. “Officers contacted a 15-year-old girl who said the woman she had argued with had already left,” he said. The girl apparently lied about her age, identity and reason for being in Santa Barbara. But during question ing, she admitted to working as a prostitute “under the direct control of two pimps, a man and a woman,” Lt. McCaffrey said. Johnson “The girl had been a runaway from her home in Orange County for one month. While living on the streets, she was approached by a pimp, who promised her money, nice clothing and the necessities of life in exchange for working for him and his female ‘business manager,’” he said. Out of desperation, the girl agreed, according to police. She reportedly told officers about working as a prostitute in Las Vegas and Ventura, and that she had been working out of Santa Barbara hotel rooms for two days. “Her pimps threatened to beat her if she did not make money for them,” said Lt. McCaffrey. “They advertised by various means, including the Internet.” Inside the hotel room, detectives allegedly found evidence that cor roborates her tale of prostitution. Authorities seized a laptop com puter and material identifying the two alleged pimps. At about 8 p.m., an officer spotted the female suspect driving a champagne-colored 1997 Cadillac with Nevada plates. “At first the driver refused to yield, speeding up Chapala Street and running several red lights,” Lt. McCaffrey said. She finally stopped in the 1600 block of Chapala and was taken into custody without further incident. The woman, identified as Tanya Leann Johnson, was booked on sus picion of pimping and pandering a minor, evading arrest amounting to a felony and being an unlicensed driver, Lt. McCaffrey said. Bail was set at $250,000. Officers have yet to locate the male suspect, who may be from the Bakersfield area. The girl was placed in protective custody. Staff report
Newspaper Details
Santa Barbara News Press
Santa Barbara, California, US
Thu, Dec 14, 2006
Page 3
Full Page
Clipped by
Christy U.
