Part 109: The Center of Human Trafficking in Los Angeles – Figueroa Street and Law Enforcement

Published September 4, 2024

Sep 05, 2024

Officers from the Los Angeles Police Department conduct a traffic stop on Figueroa Street that ended with no citation being issued by the author (GoPro Hero 11 Black).

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By Zachary Ellison, Independent Journalist

To say that the section of Figueroa Street between Imperial Highway and Vernon Avenue is the epicenter of prostitution is an understatement. By far, even in contrast to stretches of the vast sprawling network of cities in Los Angeles County that seemingly harbor pockets of the world’s so-called oldest trade, it’s Figueroa that is the most notorious zone for such activity. Today, September 4, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California announced a new partnership with both the City and County of Los Angeles to counter “human trafficking and the exploitation of minors in South Los Angeles.” This new initiative, introduced as the “Figueroa Corridor Human Trafficking Initiative,” will seek to eliminate such activity through “targeted enforcement” and “victim support,” but it would be inaccurate to say that everyone in society agrees that there is a problem, much less that a crackdown is needed.

The sad truth is that the situation on Figueroa Street, called the Figueroa Track in some law enforcement documents, exists not simply because of the traffickers or even the women themselves, who can be seen day and night standing on street corners, but because there is a persistent demand for the sexual services these women provide. I’ve seen it myself, commuting through the area and then investigating it as a journalist, including using live streaming to point the camera at the problem. This caused quite a stir, with viewership spiking at the mere prospect of seeing such transactions go down. Previously, City Attorney Hydee Feldstein-Soto, after her election in November 2022, had made a point of highlighting the issue, even taking action against one motel, the New Gage Motel. The location, one of twenty-one motels in total along the infamous stretch, provides a more private setting for those not simply using their motor vehicles on a side street for the illicit liaisons.

U.S. Attorney E. Martin Estrada, in announcing the new effort, stated: “It is imperative that we take an all-hands approach to stop the human trafficking happening right in our backyard.” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, also present in announcing the effort, said, “This is an issue that community leaders and former foster youth have been working to fight back against for decades, and today’s announcement continues a commitment to protecting children, many of whom have spent time in the child welfare system, and hold traffickers and abusers accountable.” Bass thanked LAPD’s 77th Street Division “for their continued work on this important issue.” Recently, though things didn’t go so perfectly, on July 13, Sergeant Michael Pounds fatally shot Ricardo Ramirez after, according to LAPD, Pounds “observed the occupants of a silver Cadillac wearing ski masks and in a possible dispute with the driver of another vehicle” and reported it over radio. After the shooting, a high-speed chase ensued with the remaining three occupants to San Bernardino County.

Ramirez’s family disputed LAPD’s account of the incident, which occurred just a block over on Flower Street next to the 110 Freeway in what is a particular dark section of South Los Angeles, claiming that he had not approached the unmarked vehicle in a way that would have warranted Pounds shooting him. It’s unclear why Ramirez and his accomplices were wearing masks in the area, and Pounds did not identify himself before shooting through the vehicle window at the approaching Ramirez. The incident drew headlines, but tragically, it’s just another episode in the violent history of South Los Angeles and the public and political pressure to stop the violence and associated illegal activity. Pounds unit, the 77th Street Vice & Human Trafficking Unit, charged with policing human trafficking in the area, was undoubtedly that night not solely focused on generating yet another tragedy. In the shadows of South Los Angeles, though, things undoubtedly get blurry, especially on nights with only partial moon illumination.

According to a California Public Records Act request, this specialized detachment received in 2022-2023 up to $175,000 in grant funding from the United States Department of Justice, Community Oriented Policing Services, “to purchase surveillance equipment consisting of a mirrorless camera and lens ($20,233.78); supplies ($8,301.22); travel and expenses for staff attendance at the North American Human Trafficking Conference in Las Vegas, NV ($11,465); wraparound services as provided by [non-profit] Journey Out ($50,000); and overtime for human trafficking surveillance and investigations ($85,000).” Per the Los Angeles Times report by journalists Richard Winton and Libor Jany, that night Pounds was not wearing a department issued body camera while dressed in plainclothes on the undercover detail, and Ramirez’s family and their attorney have asked “Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta, whose office handles fatal police shootings on unarmed persons, to file murder charges against Pounds.” To date, this has yet to happen despite the outcry.

Wielding a camera on Figueroa Street for such reasons can be almost as dangerous as displaying a firearm. The last time I attempted to film in the area, while heading southbound on the two-lane roadway with parking on both sides, a vehicle quickly approached, spotting my GoPro camera poking out the top window and a man yelling at me emphatically that “there is no filming in this area” repeatedly. The women who walk Figueroa Street are supported by a number of clothing stores that provide garb for the sex trade in addition to the ubiquitous liquor stores. Social media has famously amplified this culture long glorified in rap music, with, for example, well-known photographer Anthony Kiraz, who posts on Instagram under the handle “@stillbrazy.” The name is a reference to the slang word popularized by rapper YG from Compton; Kiraz has amassed 449,000 followers with edgy content documenting violence and the sex trade in Los Angeles. One recent post amassed more than 16,000 likes and 285 comments, with a mix of approving and critical of the social media exploitation.

The glorification of both prostitution and the associated often gang-controlled pimping of women on social media is clearly problematic. In my brief dive into the arena, it quickly became clearly problematic to feature the faces of women, much less attempt to do interviews, less they become targets for retaliation. For his part, YG, perhaps the biggest living, current figure in the South Los Angeles music scene, recently led a peace walk in Compton to try and end violence between rival gangs. Whether social media, much less music, or the several memorials and murals that line Figueroa Street add to the culture of the neighborhood or simply glorify its ghettofication is a matter of intense debate.

The site of major sweeps before the 1984 Olympics and closely proximate to Exposition Park and venues such as the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the sex trade clearly now stops at the newly built BMO Stadium, formerly Bank of California Stadium, which hosts the Angel City Football Club. With a controlling stake recently sold to former Disney Executive Bob Iger and USC Annenberg School for Communication Journalism Dean Willow Bay for a staggering reportedly “$100 million, according to two people familiar with the deal who were not authorized to discuss financial terms," per the report by Los Angeles Times journalist Meg James.

How can it be that only a brand new star-studded sports venue rose only 2.5 miles from a motel documented to be a hub of child sex trafficking in Los Angeles? I wish I knew the answer; for their part, the Feds and the LAPD don’t seem quite certain how to stop the trade. I’ve witnessed LAPD officers in marked units simply stop to speak briefly with the women walking the street not far from where Natalie Portman roosted watching soccer. The U.S. Attorney’s press release highlighted the case of United States v. O’Neal, noting that “Christian Brandon O’Neal Scurlock, 21, of Moreno Valley, has been indicted for allegedly sex trafficking two minors—including a 13-year-old girl—and transporting the minor victims across state lines for the purposes of engaging in prostitution.” Moreover, “O’Neal had brought them to Las Vegas to provide prostitution services as minor commercial sex workers and that they usually worked on ‘Fig,’ short for Figueroa Street in Los Angeles,” and that he had used Instagram to advertise himself. The U.S. Attorney’s statement notes one episode in which the defendant is alleged to have been “appearing to yell at the 13-year-old victim, take her clothes, and depart the area, leaving her completely naked on the street.”

The U.S. Attorney’s Office statement also recounted two other cases, United States v. Castillo et al. and United States v. Bradford, the former of which is an ongoing criminal prosecution and the latter in which a life sentence in federal prison was handed down. Both cases involved extensive digital evidence, including the creation of pornography and dissemination of it online. According to one law enforcement source with direct knowledge of the sex trade on Figueroa Track, the increasingly digitized trade is highly lucrative. It’s unknown exactly how many women are involved in this business or how much revenue is generated, but like so many other illegal industries, it undoubtedly involves some of the largest corporations in America in both managing its product and processing its transactions. Even the COVID-19 pandemic did not stop this business, according to Los Angeles Times journalist Laura Newberry, who wrote in 2020 in an interview with Journey Out former Executive Director Stephany Powell: “It was business as usual.” One counselor, herself a former victim, said, “Struggle is what we do. Danger is what we face.” Undoubtedly, there are many working to put a check on a trade that for some has simply become a choice due to poor life circumstances as well as outright exploitation.

The extent to which legitimate business is simply capitalizing on illegitimate on Figueroa Street became increasingly under question when, according to public records, the City of Los Angeles, as part of Mayor Karen Bass’s Inside Safe initiative, considered usage of the New Bay Motel located at Figueroa and 83rd Street. The Staff Investigator report dated April 23, 2023, conducted by the Department of City Planning notes that the 5,000-square foot property hosts 19 guest rooms costing from $80 to $110 per night based on length of stay. The site visit conducted during the day was unable to ascertain whether “lighting is adequate because the site visit was conducted during the daytime” but nonetheless was able to tell that they had “observed two individuals coming from the motel; [and] LAPD identified these individuals as prostitutes.” Entering one of the rooms, pornography played on the television set and, per the report, “The room also smelled; LAPD officers identified that the previous occupant(s) smoked methamphetamine.”

The report then includes a graphic image of this before moving on to conclude that: “There were 39 investigative reports, death investigation, employee’s report, vehicle report, booking and identification record, missing person, injury investigation, or arrest reports submitted for the subject property (8301 South Figueroa Street) between January 25, 2019 and June 2, 2022.” It’s unclear if the property was ever used for Inside Safe, but it would soon be shut down after a 14-0 vote by the Los Angeles City Council in October 2023. Two other locations were ultimately used on the far ends of Figueroa Track for Inside Safe: the Park Motel and the Full Moon Inn, according to data obtained by local unhoused journalist Rooflesser. The Mayors’ program is expected to cost up to an additional $100 million next year due to increased maintenance costs and inflation. Undoubtedly, for some of those working on "Fig,” the high cost of housing and low wages of traditional work is a driver and enticement to participate in the sex trade.

The owners of the New Bay Motel ultimately sued to overturn City Council’s decision to shut it down following the report. The nonprofit Community Coalition, according to a report by Spectrum News journalist Vania Patino, are “calling for the removal of twelve motels along the corridor” as part of a campaign dubbed: “Free the Land.” Asked for comment months prior to today’s U.S. Attorney’s office announcement, incoming LA City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawsons’ office issued the following statement: “The work is still ongoing on Figueroa, and there is no comment at this time.” Harris-Dawson’s response, in addition to noting the New Gage Motel litigation and the new Bay Motel closure, stated that one location, the Palms Motel, had been “demolished.” For their part, the LAPD seems keenly aware that the neighbors who live on both Figueroa Street itself, as well as the adjacent side streets, want the city to do better. In emails obtained using the California Public Records Act, the Mayor’s Office requests information on the problem, with LAPD commander’s following up in the email chain relabeled to “Figueroa Corridor—Hot Mayor’s Request.” LAPD email irony, or just plain insensitivity? Sometimes, it’s hard to tell lately.

The urgent request directed from Deputy Chief T. Scott Harrelson, Chief of Staff, to current LAPD Interim Chief Dominic Choi was precipitated by Mayor Bass’s planned visit and is dated February 7, 2023. Harrelson, a 29-year veteran of LAPD, gets a quick response from Deputy Chief Emada Tingirides, a rumored candidate to become LAPD Chief; she responds, “Will work on this ASAP,” before Harrelson follows-up the next morning. LAPD has promised additional records from years prior to 2024 later this month. LAPD’s prior initiative was named “Project Figueroa,” noting that Senate Bill 357 passed on July 1, 2022, modified California Penal Code Section 653.22: Loitering for the Purpose of Engaging in a Prostitution Offense, which criminalizes street prostitution, was modified to “help protect all people from discriminatory arrests and harassment based on how they dress or their profession.” The result, according to the report, was an “uptick in visible sex workers present on the sidewalks and side streets.” According to the statistics provided by Tingirides, last winter was especially violent, registering a 51.4% increase in “aggravated Assault” from January 1 to February 7” versus the same period in the year prior, a total rise from 35 to 53 incidents.

The report followed a major “sting operation targeting commercial sex workers who post advertisements online for sexual services in exchange for money.” As part of the January 4, 2024 action, “Undercover officers posing as sex purchasers contacted the sex workers and organized a meet up at a nearby motel in South Los Angeles” before making arrests under “California Penal Code (PC) Section 647(b)(2): Solicitation for the Purposes of Prostitution.” Four women and one male were detained, with the male being booked on outstanding felony warrants. In a separate contingent operation, a total of ten suspects ranging in age from 20 to 50 years of age, all with Hispanic surnames, were cited as part of an undercover operation by Southeast Division. In total, according to LAPD, “In 2023, officers made 367 arrests along the Figueroa Corridor and surrounding area..[and] officers rescued 14 minors who were identified as victims of human trafficking.” The prior year, LAPD made 179 prostitution related arrests alone, leading up to Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium.

It seems unlikely that law enforcement alone can end this problem without significant cultural shifts, policy changes, and outreach efforts. For her part, City Attorney Hydee Feldstein-Soto sought to expand search warrants in relation to minors as part of AB 2419 authored by Assemblymember Mike Gipson; the measure remains stalled due to apparent concerns over the nature of “information or evidence” in relation to electronic communications and services. In a recent interview with Ms. Magazine journalist Carrie Baker, Feldstein-Soto stated that she is “leading a 'movement to protect our girls.” She states that during her campaign for City Attorney she went on a ride along with a detective on Figueroa Street and was “really taken aback” that: “There were hundreds of what appeared to be young women in various stages of undress thronging on street corners with cars lined up waiting for services.”

Feldstein-Soto puts the number of minors rescued at 60. “Guys come down from the Hollywood Hills or come in from out of town,” she notes in describing the population dynamics. Feldstein-Soto states that LAPD is taking pictures of license plates for drivers seen interacting with prostitutes, who then receive “Dear John” letters; 800 such letters were sent from July 2023 to May 2024. She blames two lawmakers for holding up AB 2419, noting that she argued until “she was blue in the face,” promising to renew the effort next year. One thing is for sure: “Fig” isn’t just going to go away.

Link: Figueroa Corridor Human Trafficking Initiative Is Designed to Target Sexual Exploitation Crimes on the Figueroa Corridor in South Los Angeles

Link: L.A. City Attorney Feldstein Soto looking to dismantle ‘prostitution hub’ at South L.A. motel

Link: Officer-Involved Shooting in 77th Street Division NRF037-24ma

Link: New video details officer-involved shooting of unarmed teen in South LA

Link: 77th Street Area OIS 7/13/24 (NRF037-24)

Link: An undercover LAPD cop shot an unarmed teen through his car window. His family plans to sue

Link: Still Brazy Instagram Page

Link: YG Leads Peace Walk Between Rival Blood Gangs In Compton

Link: Willow Bay explains why she and Bob Iger bought Angel City FC: ‘Culture-defining moment’

Link: Coronavirus fears haven’t stopped the sex trade on Los Angeles streets

Link: Journey Out Webpage

Link: City Council Denies Appeal for Continued Operation of Motel in South L.A.