By Josué Monroy
SACRAMENTO – A Sacramento man accused of pimping and pandering, after being arrested in a prostitution sting operation led by the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department earlier this year, is also accused of pimping out his girlfriend and driving her to and from meet-ups with clients.
That’s just some of the information that was shared last week about defendant Andrew Young, 31, during a preliminary hearing in front of Judge Allen Sumner in Sacramento County Superior Court.
An exchange between the defendant and his girlfriend/alleged victim seems to show her giving him updates as to her whereabouts and activity on her “dates.” Apparently impressed by the speed at which she completed the purported “appointments,” Young texted her saying, “I’m glad I own U.”
Deputy District Attorney Courtney Martin, the DA’s Human Trafficking prosecutor, called on Sacramento County Sheriff’s Deputy William Fry as an expert witness in the case. Deputy Fry testified that he had contacted the defendant’s girlfriend on February 11, 2020, through an adult classifieds website by posing as a prospective client responding to her ad for a paid sexual encounter.
They agreed to meet the next day. The sting was arranged by a task force specializing in commercial sexual exploitation and human trafficking.
The woman’s identity was confirmed by a phone search in a law enforcement database, and revealed her contact history with the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department. She was on parole for a robbery charge.
Once at the woman’s apartment for the fake encounter, deputies contacted Young, who was inside the apartment. He identified himself as the woman’s boyfriend, which she corroborated, and neither could 
confirm a source of income, according to Deputy Fry. The alleged victim then admitted to being a sex worker, though she was not arrested. Young was taken in for resisting arrest.
When pressed by deputies as to why the defendant’s contact was saved under the name “Armand Stockt” in her phone, the alleged victim stated that it was to protect Young from police scrutiny, Deputy Fry alleges.
Evidence of the defendant’s role as the alleged victim’s pimp, according to the prosecution, were two tattoos on the woman’s chest. The letters “AY” were visible in the center of her chest, with a snowflake right above it, according to Fry.
When asked by Martin as to their meaning, Fry stated, “It’s common [that] pimps will tattoo their initials or names on their victims in order to claim them as property.”
The deputy also recognized the snowflake as a symbol identifying white female prostitutes.
During the proceedings, a text message thread between the defendant and his girlfriend/victim was used by the prosecution to present their relationship as that of pimp and prostitute. The thread was obtained from the victim’s phone.
Screenshots of the conversations were used heavily to illustrate and interpret the nature of the exchanges, with Deputy Fry weighing in extensively. The thread seems to discuss upcoming meet-ups with clients, with the alleged victim reporting to the defendant at the beginning and end of each encounter. One text, allegedly from Young, reads, “Quickest b***h I know,” to which the victim replies, “Gone.”
The prosecution then focused on the messages immediately after, in which the defendant texts, “Fast ass b***h. I’m glad I own U. Be careful.”
When asked by DDA Martin as to the significance of this message, Deputy Fry said that “based on the tattoos that the victim has on her chest, that it’s another sign of claiming property, and saying ‘I own you’ is claiming the victim as property.”
During the witness’ cross-examination by the defense, Richard Dudek, the defendant’s private attorney, attempted to cast doubt on his client’s alleged involvement in the victim’s prostitution activities. He asked Deputy Fry to confirm that his client and the victim’s relationship was a romantic one, as represented by them both, which Fry confirmed.
Dudek also asked the witness whether or not he had made a connection between his client and the adult classified ad posted by the victim, which Deputy Fry stated he had not.
When asked if he knew how long the alleged victim had been a prostitute, Fry stated that he was told by her she that had been a sex worker since the age of 13-14, being forced into it by what she called a “gorilla pimp,” or a pimp that uses force and intimidation.
Fry also corroborated statements made by the victim during questioning that she would not go back to having a pimp, and that she did not consider the defendant to be her pimp, as she was now an independent prostitute and in a relationship with him. She also denied that he had encouraged, tricked, or coerced her into prostitution, which is considered pandering.
Fry quoted her as saying, ‘I do what I want, no one makes me do it,’ during an interview with police.
In her redirect, DDA Martin asked Fry how common it is for a prostitute to have a “boyfriend pimp,” to which he replied, “Very common.”
In his closing argument, the defense argued that there is insufficient evidence for the charge of pandering, and that the alleged victim had been a prostitute before meeting the defendant in 2017. After reviewing the jury instruction for the pandering charge, Judge Sumner let the charge stand.
Counsel Dudek also asked for a lower bail amount for Young, noting the $500,000 bail schedule was unreasonable. He asked for $25,000-$50,000, if not zero bail, in light of COVID-19 precautions at the county jail.
Judge Sumner, citing the defendant’s strike for carjacking a decade ago, and allegations from the DDA that he is manipulating the alleged victim through jailhouse phone calls, ruled bail should remain at $500,000.
Formal arraignment is scheduled for August 17 at 1:30 p.m. in Department 63. Young will be charged with pimping, pandering, and procurement at that time.
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