Police say they arrested three men who allegedly coerced a woman into using a dating application to help them set up two home invasions in Long Beach earlier this year, and authorities believe there could be more victims.
Las Vegas resident Vincent Lindsey, 24; Palmdale resident Tyheam Charles Boyce, 26; and La Mirada resident Marcos Lamar Wesley, 30, were each arrested on suspicion of robbery and human trafficking after police identified them as suspects in robberies, according to the Long Beach Police Department.
The three men have since been charged with two counts of robbery each in Long Beach Superior Court and pleaded not guilty, court records show. They remain in jail in lieu of $1 million bail.
On July 15, officers were notified of two robberies in Long Beach where the victim said they met a female subject through a social media dating application, the LBPD said.
Once the victim would invite the female subject into their residence, she’d let in two or three armed male suspects who’d then rob the victims, police said.
The female subject was identified and detained in Los Angeles later that day, police said. That’s when she told authorities that she had been raped, sexually assaulted and forced to participate in the home invasion robberies by two of the suspects.
LBPD continued its investigation and eventually served several search warrants related to the crime. During one of the searches in La Mirada, authorities found an assault weapon believed to have been used in the robberies, the LBPD said.
Detectives proceeded to present the case to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, which issued arrest warrants for all three suspects, the LBPD said.
From Sept. 7 to 8, authorities took all three men into custody after serving additional search warrants in each suspect’s city of residence.
Police said the rape, sexual assault, and sex trafficking of the female subject are still under investigation.
Anyone who believes they may have been a victim of a similar crime or has more information, is asked to contact detectives at 562-570-7219.
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