Police Continue Search For Human Trafficking Suspect Who Fled After Van Nuys Pursuit
VAN NUYS (CBSLA) — Police are hoping the public can help locate a man wanted on suspicion of human trafficking.
According to police, an 18-year-old female victim contacted officers Feb. 12 at about 4:30 p.m. to report that she was a victim of human trafficking. Police said the suspect met the victim at a liquor store in Victorville and glamorized a life of money and travel to the victim. The suspect was said to have known the victim's financial situation and home struggles and coerced her to work as a prostitute.
When the woman refused, police said the woman escalated his aggression by using physical force causing the victim to fear for her safety and work as a prostitute at the direction of the suspect.
The suspect being sought is the same suspect who led police on a brief police pursuit Feb. 12 that ended in a crash near the intersection of Hatteras Street and Sepulveda Boulevard when the suspect collided with another vehicle with a woman in her 30s and and her friend's little girl. The suspect fled the scene, leaving a white Mercedes behind.
The suspect is described as a 32-year-old Black male standing 5-foot-10 and weighing about 175 pounds. He has brown eyes and black hair styled in long dreadlocks. He goes by the nickname Creole Blood and has tattoos on his abdomen. Police say he frequents Pomona, Victorville and the South Los Angeles area.
Police asked that anyone who knows the suspect's whereabouts or has information about additional victims to call the Los Angeles Police Department's Van Nuys station at 818-374-9500.