Crime While out on bail in kidnapping case, Oakland man charged with child trafficking - Victim recruited from youth crisis center, police say

While out on bail in kidnapping case, Oakland man charged with child trafficking
The Mercury News (archive.ph)
By Nate Gartrell
2025-12-27 14:22:15GMT

OAKLAND — A man who was arrested on kidnapping charges just seven months ago has been charged again, this time with human trafficking, after two girls were allegedly found in his hotel room, court records show.

Brandon Johnson, 37, was charged last week with human trafficking of a minor, soliciting a child to prostitute and pandering, court records show. At the time of his arrest on Dec. 19, he was out on bail for pending charges of kidnapping a suspected adult sex worker in front of an undercover cop, court records show.

Police say a relative of a 14-year-old girl called police and told them the girl was with Johnson at the Bay Breeze Inn in Oakland. Police went there and found not only the girl, but a 15-year-old girl, as well as a replica gun in Johnson’s hotel room, according to court records.

Authorities allege that Johnson met one of the girl’s when she was at a youth crisis center in San Francisco and had been with her for several weeks. He reportedly gave the girls $500 daily quotas, instructing them to be sexually abused by adult strangers for as long as it took to make that amount, according to court records.

Johnson was arrested and charged back in May after an undercover officer allegedly saw him throwing a woman in a bikini into his vehicle and driving off, as she screamed for help. He posted $100,000 bail and was released from jail, records show. Johnson’s lawyer refuted the charges by arguing that the woman police identified as the victim denied it, and said she witnessed a different person throwing a different woman in his car.

Now Johnson is back behind bars at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, with bail set at $670,000, records show. He has pleaded not guilty and is due in court next on Jan. 12.

Johnson’s arrest was one of two near-identical incidents that occurred in Oakland that week. On Dec. 15, Oakland police rescued two runaway teen girls, aged 14 and 15, and arrested their alleged trafficker, Terrell Williams, who was later charged with rape, statutory rape and crimes related to alleged sex trafficking, court records show.

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Here's the article about his arrest for kidnapping. In it, we learn that Johnson has two convictions for robbery and a current robbery charge, yet the judge still let him be released after paying bail. I'm wondering why he's listed as 37 in the above article and 34 in the below:


Undercover Oakland cops witnessed man kidnapping sex worker, police say
The Mercury News (archive.ph)
By Nate Gartrell
2025-12-27 14:22:15GMT

OAKLAND — A 34-year-old man has been charged with kidnapping a suspected sex worker in a high-prostitution area, an alleged crime witnessed by two local undercover cops, court records show.


Brandon Johnson posted $100,000 bail for his release from jail on charges of kidnapping. He is set to appear in court in late May for a preliminary hearing.

An undercover detail was working on the 800 block of International Boulevard in Oakland, monitoring suspected prostitution activities, when they spotted an early 2000s silver Mercedes make a U-turn and the driver appear to take interest in a group of sex workers on the corner, according to police. A man then allegedly hopped out of the car, chased down a young woman, threw her into the vehicle and drove off, as she screamed, kicked and flailed.

The undercover cops broadcasted the suspected kidnapping onto a radio channel. Another officer tracked down the Mercedes and arrested Johnson, authorities said.

The incident occurred on April 16, roughly two weeks after Johnson was charged with second-degree robbery in an unrelated incident. He posted $50,000 for his release in that case. Johnson also has two prior robbery convictions, both from 2019, according to the criminal complaint.

The undercover detail was there that night intending to locate child victims of human trafficking, authorities said.

As a condition of Johnson’s release on bail, he has been ordered to avoid parts of Oakland known for prostitution, court records show. Johnson has pleaded not guilty.

 

[Blewberry Nausea]

So niggs being niggs.

 

[REGENDarySumanai]

I'll take one order of life in prison with zero chance of parole, please!

 

[Sneed's Feed And Seed]

I'll take one order of life in prison with zero chance of parole, please!

This is California. You'd be lucky if he gets a slap on the wrist, and even then he'd get reparations for "grievious bodily harm".

 

[Gandhi's Left Hook]

This is California. You'd be lucky if he gets a slap on the wrist, and even then he'd get reparations for "grievious bodily harm".

He will probably do 5-10 in total for both crimes.

 

[Super-Chevy454]

So niggs being niggs.

And that guy proved then Scott Adams was right again.

 

[Taser Confetti]

After Jews are put back in their place we're going to have to address the fact that they've allowed the 8th amendment to allow absolute monsters to be released from prison.

 

[Rango Dango]

what was his race

 

[clipartfan92]

While searching for a mugshot, I came across reddit being reddit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/OaklandCA/...n_bail_in_kidnapping_case_oakland_man/nw8jonb (archive.ph)

The original post, via arctic-shift:

 

[pro drivor]

guarantee that this is just the tip of the iceberg

 

[Kheapathic]

I know it'll never happen, but any and all forms of human trafficking should be death penalty. Not differing flavors of felony and what-not, no cutting a deal; you get your trial, you get a week to get your affairs, if any, in order, you get your last meal, then you fucking die. Any judge who attempts to put their finger on the scale of justice, like we're seeing a lot of, can fucking join them if they want to. They can hold hands while they stand in front of the firing squad.

 

[JosephStalin]

Chinook time. I stayed behind to answer phones and do paperwork. But I showed everyone my new steel-toed flying boots. They liked them and wished me good use out of them.

Will, please warm up the helicopter, you're flying left seat. Milton, please fly right seat. Everyone else, please assist Jerry, the crew chief, after the special processing has been completed.

 

[Bland Crumbs]

Charge the judge as an accomplice. It is the only way this stops.

 

[Cool Dog Returns]

I know its a nigger, but what about the victims?

 

[KiwiFuzz2]

I know its a nigger, but what about the victims?

Almost certainly some flavor of "Global South."

White parents in Oakland keep better track of their kids than that.

 

[The Hardest R]

I know it'll never happen, but any and all forms of human trafficking should be death penalty. Not differing flavors of felony and what-not, no cutting a deal; you get your trial, you get a week to get your affairs, if any, in order, you get your last meal, then you fucking die. Any judge who attempts to put their finger on the scale of justice, like we're seeing a lot of, can fucking join them if they want to. They can hold hands while they stand in front of the firing squad.

Niggers consider pimping to be a noble career. The death penalty for child trafficking is white supremacy.

 

[Uzumaki]

I know it'll never happen, but any and all forms of human trafficking should be death penalty

The reason it’s not good policy to have the death penalty for trafficking is not because human traffickers are persons worthy of breathing the air the steal every second of their worthless existence, it’s because it incentivizes killing victims. If trafficking is a death sentence then a trafficker is better off killing a potential witness to avoid getting caught, as this would not escalate their potential punishment but substantially increases the chance they get away.

It’s not that their life is worth preserving, their victim’s is.

 

[Fount of BadSpeak]

Guaranteed brown, but I am not sure if they are black, Hispanic, or another flavor, given that all browns have a propensity for raping and pimping out kids. I am not remotely surprised that the cops and/or the media are protecting this creature, especially given the location, but I must say that every time it happens, my hate grows just a little stronger.

Charge the judge as an accomplice. It is the only way this stops.

I do not foresee any federal politicians ever pushing that idea. I highly doubt any states will either. And even if they do, I guarantee judges will march in lockstep in opposition to consequences. I do not think the system that created this outcome has any interest in stopping the system from working as intended.

 

[KiwiFuzz2]

Might be this one:

https://www.facebook.com/REMYCASTELLE

 

[Agamemnon Busmalis]

Charge the judge as an accomplice. It is the only way this stops.

I looked it up, $100,000 bail is what the county bail schedule recommends for a charge of kidnapping. The judge went by the book.

You wouldn't reasonably expect someone to forfeit $100,000 to commit more crimes while on bail. Either it's cash bail and it's now gone, or it was a 10% bond and he's out $10k with the bail bondsman eager to collect the remaining $90,000. Bail bondsmen are pretty ruthless when it comes to getting their money.

In it, we learn that Johnson has two convictions for robbery and a current robbery charge, yet the judge still let him be released after paying bail.

They're different offenses unrelated to the specific charge he was facing. Especially if he was released on bail for those charges, committed no other offenses while on bail, and appeared for court it'd be hard to argue against granting it.

Now this time, bail jumps to $670k because not only has he committed more (and more serious) crimes, they are sex offenses directly related to his kidnapping charge.