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3 arrested in Long Beach home invasion robberies that used woman as bait on social media dating apps

CBS News Los Angeles: The Rundown (Oct. 3 AM Edition)
CBS News Los Angeles: The Rundown (Oct. 3 AM Edition) 02:00

Police say they have arrested who trafficked a woman and used her as bait to find people they could rob on a social media dating app.

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Vincent Lindsey, 24, of Las Vegas; Tyheam Charles Boyce, 26, of Palmdale, and Marcos Lamar Wesley, 30, of La Mirada, were arrested last month in connection with the case. A search warrant served on a La Mirada location, where Wesley was arrested, turned up an assault weapon believed to be used in the robberies, according to Long Beach police.

Long Beach police say they first got reports of two similar home invasion robberies in Long Beach on July 15. In both robberies, the victims told police they met a woman on a social media dating application and eventually invited her to their homes. Once she was inside the home, she would let two or three armed men in, stealing items from the homes in a home invasion robbery, police said.

The woman involved in the robberies was soon identified and detained in the city of Los Angeles, but police say she was a victim herself. She reported she had been raped and sexually assaulted by two of the suspects and forced to go on the dates and take part in the home invasion robberies.

A case was eventually presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office and arrest warrants in the amount of $1 million were issued for each of the men. All three were arrested between Sept. 7 and 8, and face charges of robbery. Police say the rape, sexual assault, and sex trafficking of an adult are still under investigation.

Lindsey is scheduled to make his next court appearance Monday, while the next court date for Boyce and Wesley is on Oct. 13.

Long Beach police say there could be more victims of similar crimes in the city of Long Beach or surrounding areas. Anyone with information can contact Long Beach police Vice Investigations at (562) 570-7219.

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