Costa Mesa man gets 24 years in prison for human trafficking and burning woman with an iron

A 28-year-old Costa Mesa man was sentenced Tuesday to 24 years in state prison for kidnapping and inflicting burns on a woman who authorities say worked for him, another man and a woman as a prostitute in Costa Mesa.

In 2014, Orange County prosecutors charged Renice Stevenson Flores-Davis with two counts of torture, two counts of mayhem and one count each of human trafficking, kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon, pimping and pandering.

On Tuesday, as part of a plea deal, prosecutors dismissed all counts except one each of human trafficking, kidnapping, mayhem and assault with a deadly weapon, according to Orange County Superior Court records.

Prosecutors said Flores-Davis, along with Cierra Rose Thompson, 29, of Oregon and Oscar Gonzalez-Salinas, 36, of Costa Mesa, abused a woman who authorities allege was working for the trio as a prostitute.

Thompson pleaded guilty in February to human trafficking and assault with a deadly weapon. She is expected to be sentenced May 26.

Gonzalez-Salinas is accused of eight felonies, including human trafficking, torture, kidnapping and pimping. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges and is expected to appear in court May 10 for a preliminary hearing, according to court records. He could face 39 years to life in prison if convicted.

Authorities allege that in May 2014, Flores-Davis met a then-26-year-old woman in Costa Mesa during a drug deal and persuaded her to work for him as a prostitute.

On July 22, 2014, the district attorney’s office contends, Flores-Davis got angry with the woman and burned her with a heated glass pipe used to smoke methamphetamine, used zip ties to bind her to a chair, duct-taped her mouth and blindfolded her.

Later that evening, authorities allege, Flores-Davis and Thompson, his girlfriend at the time, taped the woman’s mouth again and tied her to a bathroom sink.

Authorities allege Flores-Davis and Gonzalez-Salinas beat the woman five days later and placed a hot electric iron on her back, tied her to a chair and poured water in her mouth and nose. Thompson was accused of aiding and abetting them, prosecutors said.

The woman was able to send a Facebook message asking for help, police said. The recipient called the Costa Mesa Police Department and directed officers to the Days Inn on Newport Boulevard.

Flores-Davis and Thompson were arrested, and the woman was treated for bruises and burns. Gonzalez-Salinas was arrested in a motel nearby.

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Twitter: @HannahFryTCN