BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — On Monday, Kern County District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer, alongside multiple law enforcement agencies, announced the arrest of over 20 people in connection to a days-long human trafficking investigation.
The multi-agency undercover operation took place from August 9 through August 12 and involved local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies. Those include the Bakersfield Police Department, Kern County Sheriff's Office, Homeland Security, FBI, and the Secret Services among others.
Those arrested face a variety of charges including human trafficking, child exploitation, pimping, pandering, and arranging to meet a minor for "lewd purpose."
“Maintaining a strong law enforcement presence in social media dating apps, and physical locations where human trafficking is known to occur is an important element of suppressing human trafficking. The success of this operation shows the commitment of law enforcement to combating human trafficking and child exploitation and offers a glimpse into how prevalent these horrific crimes are within our state,” said Zimmer.
“We will do whatever it takes to protect our most vulnerable. This is ongoing and there is more to come," added Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood.
The following people were arrested during the operation:
- Salvador Salcedo, age 56
- Daniel Hernandez, age 36
- Diego Gonzalez, age 36
- Jose Trejo, age 33
- Jasvinder Singh, age 35
- Joginder Singh, age 54
- Ronnie Germaine Wiley, age 30
- Alberto Rodriguez, age 23
- Antonio Romero Jr., age 30
- William Alfredo Perez Sandoval, age 26
- Mynor Velasquez, age 38
- Rolando Lopez, age 23
- Rajinder Pal Singh, age 54
- Michael Peter Muratalla, age 43
- Nishan Singh, age 33
- Eli Robert Wilson, age 29
- Rickie Travon Walker, age 40
- Devon Paul Taylor, age 31
- Joshua Jemira Johnson, age 38
- Karnail Singh, age 44
- Christopher Lee Grinner, age 36
