Two Long Beach men convicted of human trafficking and pimping

Two Long Beach men have been found guilty of human trafficking and pimping several women, one of whom was a teenager, authorities said Monday.

A jury found Lebrette Stacey Winn, 23, and Eric James Avery, 25, guilty last week of multiple felony charges. Winn was also found guilty of pandering, sodomy, rape, aggravated mayhem and kidnapping, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

One of the two female victims, age 20, said she met Winn in January 2013. He convinced her to work as a prostitute and then raped her, the district attorney’s office said.

The woman ran away, but Winn found her and made her work in prostitution. He also physically and sexually assaulted her. As punishment for wanting to go home and to mark her as his property, he had his pimp moniker and a dollar sign tattoed on the victim’s forehead.

An 18-year-old victim said she met Winn in November 2012. He persuaded her to work as a prostitute, but she eventually stopped.

Then in May 2013, Winn meet up with her, forced her into his car and threatened her. He then picked up the 20-year-old victim and took both to a mall in Culver City, where the women escaped from the locked car.

They ran to a man and told him they had been kidnapped and forced into prostitution, and the man drove them to a nearby police station.

A day later, Winn was picked up by police while he was driving to an arranged meeting with the 18-year-old victim. Police arrested both Winn and Avery, who was the passenger in the vehicle.

Officers found a hotel key in Avery’s pocket. When they went to the hotel room, they found a 16-year-old girl who said she had been working as a prostitute for Avery.

Winn is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 22 and faces a maximum sentence of 37 years and eight months, to life in state prison.

Avery is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 12 and faces a sentence of up to 34 years in state prison, a sentence that was lengthened by a gang allegation.

Both men will have to register as sex offenders.

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