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OAKLAND — A 46-year-old man known around town by the nickname “Scarface” was convicted of human trafficking, pimping and pandering a 16-year-old girl, court records show.
Lawrence Bomani Johnson, of Oakland, was convicted June 8 after a trial that spanned several weeks. The trial took a turn, though, when prosecutors dropped several charges midway through, all involving a second alleged victim.
Johnson was originally charged with trafficking two girls — one who was detained during an undercover prostitution investigation, and a second who was identified after a Contra Costa District Attorney’s employee told police a colleague was dating a girl who was being trafficked by Johnson. The first victim testified during trial, resulting in Johnson’s conviction. The dropped charges were related to the second girl.
The 16-year-old girl, who is referred to as Jane Doe in court records, told police she met Johnson two days before she was detained Aug. 29, 2021 in the undercover sting. Johnson, she told authorities, pulled up alongside her in a vehicle as she stood on 25th Avenue and International Boulevard in East Oakland, told her she was pretty and convinced her to get in his car. She said she told Johnson she was 16, that he supplied her with condoms and instructed her to go on “dates” for pre-determined prices.
Johnson has a prior human trafficking conviction from 2008, court records show. He has been in jail since late 2021.
Oakland pimp nicknamed ‘Scarface’ convicted of human trafficking of a minor