Advertisement 23 arrested for human trafficking, prostitution in San Joaquin County 8 teen girls were victims of human trafficking in city of Stockton, police say Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Twenty-three people were arrested in a human trafficking investigation and prostitution sting in incorporated and unincorporated areas of Stockton, law enforcement officials said Monday. In the human trafficking case, a three-month investigation into the website Backpage.com led Stockton police to discover that eight girls ranging in ages from 14 to 17 were being trafficked for sex, Stockton police said. The victims lured men to motels along the Interstate 5 corridor, including Red Roof Inn on Fremont Boulevard and Motel 6 on Marsh Lane. The San Joaquin District Attorney's Human Trafficking Task Force said some of the ads on Backpage.com showed girls offering sexual acts for as little as $20. Oftentimes, the human trafficking victims see none of that money. "Usually, there’s something being used against them or they’re being manipulated in some way," Chief Deputy District Attorney Kristine Reed said. "The trauma will affect them long term because many feel like they don't have a way out." Jimmy Macias and Recardo Spivey, both 19 years old, were arrested Wednesday on several counts of human trafficking, according to Stockton police. Both were booked into the San Joaquin County Jail. "It’s a form of modern-day slavery because these traffickers use threats, force, lies, manipulation to their victims," Stockton Police Officer Joe Silva said. Investigators are still looking for additional victims and ask anyone with information to call the Stockton Police Department at 209-937-7224. Elsewhere in San Joaquin County, deputies and California Highway Patrol officers, conducted a prostitution sting at a motel at an undisclosed location in an unincorporated area of Stockton. Officers contacted 200 people who were soliciting sexual services online and in person during the course of the operation. As a result, 21 people were arrested for soliciting sexual services for money or loitering with the intent to solicit, deputies said. "The operation was designed to combat the demand side of the ongoing human trafficking problem within San Joaquin County," the sheriff's office said in a Facebook post. The following is a list of all 21 people who were arrested. Heather Romo, loitering with the intent to prostitute/solicitDakayla Quarles, loitering with the intent to prostitute/solicitKaneisha Giles, loitering with the intent to prostitute/solicitAlvaro Zuniga, solicitationBilly Elmore, solicitationJonnisha Zigler, loitering with the intent to prostitute/solicitEduardo Cedillo, solicitationShokut Khan, solicitationTrang Vu, solicitationJose Luna, solicitationJuan Ceron, solicitationBernardo Mendoza, solicitationEdgar Azevedo, solicitationJayden Khonn, solicitationManuel Rojas, solicitationMario Ruballos, solicitationIsrael Aguero, solicitationClaudio-Dimas Espinoza, solicitationDavid Byrd, loitering with the intent to prostitute/solicitEsteban Aguirre, solicitationMichael Jones, solicitation