Three people are scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday in Orange County for the alleged kidnapping and torture of a 26-year-old woman in what police believe was a human trafficking plot.
The victim, who had a black eye, bruises and burns on her body, told police she had been tied up, blindfolded, beaten and repeatedly burned with an electric clothing iron and hot glass narcotics pipe for about a week, according to the Costa Mesa Police Department.
On Monday, Costa Mesa police arrested 26-year-old Renice Davis and 33-year-old Oscar Gonzalez-Salinas, both of Costa Mesa, and 27-year-old Cierra Thompson, who last lived in Oregon, in connection with the crimes.
Police found the victim in a motel room at the Days Inn on Newport Boulevard on Monday evening, after being tipped off by a caller who had received a Facebook message from the woman asking for help, the Costa Mesa Police Department said in a statement.
The case was already being investigated by Westminster Police, who had tried to find a woman "forcibly held against her will for purposes of prostitution" last week at a motel in Westminster. The woman was last seen leaving the Westminster motel with the suspects in a truck, officials said.
On Monday, police said they found Davis and Thompson in the Costa Mesa motel room with the victim. After searching for the truck, police also found and arrested Gonzalez-Salinas.
The victim was taken to the hospital, where she was treated for her injuries, before being transferred to a battered women’s shelter, Costa Mesa police said.
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Davis is accused of recruiting the woman to work as a prostitute for him earlier this year, according to the Orange County District Attorney's Office. She told police that, about a week ago, Davis got upset with her and burned her with a hot pipe used for drugs, and he and Thompson allegedly used zipties and duct tape to keep her in the Westminster motel.
Davis allegedly threatened to kill the victim and her family if she tried to escape or contact police, the victim told authorities.
The three suspects were charged in connection with felony counts of kidnapping, torture, human trafficking, aggravated assault, pimping and pandering.
