Oakland man settles pimping case with plea deal, two-year prison term

Plea deal finalized in June

OAKLAND, Calif. — According to court records, a Bay Area man will serve a two-year prison sentence to settle allegations that he brought a sex worker to a hotel to meet an undercover officer.

In exchange for the two-year prison sentence, Charlie Jones, 21, pleaded no contest to a pandering charge and a probation violation. According to court records, Jones was initially charged with pimping, pandering, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

The plea agreement was reached in June, but Jones was not transferred to the state prison system until last month, according to records. According to records, he is incarcerated at North Kern State Prison.

Jones was arrested in March of last year after bringing a 20-year-old sex worker to America’s Best Value Inn on East 12th Street in Oakland to meet an undercover officer who had responded to a prostitution ad. When officers attempted to arrest him, he fled and threw a gun over a fence, according to court records.

Authorities said the woman claimed Jones was her boyfriend, not a pimp, but text messages on her phone contradicted her claim. At Jones’ preliminary hearing in April, his attorney argued that there wasn’t enough evidence to connect the phone to Jones.

Jones will be eligible for parole in January, according to records.