Historic three-jury human trafficking trial convicts three defendants of sex trafficking a minor
Author: District Attorney
Date: 7/24/2025 5:30 PM
District Attorney Dan Dow announced today Tremaine Quincy Tejon Jones (32), Joshua Diante Murphy (30) and Heather Lynne Hunt (32) were convicted by three separate juries of human trafficking a minor for sexual purposes in January 2021.
District Attorney Dan Dow announced today that Tremaine Quincy Tejon Jones (DOB 05/24/1993), Joshua Diante Murphy (DOB 07/26/1994), and Heather Lynne Hunt (DOB 11/08/1992) have been found guilty of human trafficking of a minor for the purpose of sex acts and pimping of a minor under the age of 16.
Murphy was also found guilty of possession and distribution of child pornography and committing sex acts on a 15-year-old. Additionally, Hunt was found to have trafficked the young survivor under “force, fear, threats, menace, duress, or coercion.” This finding provides for a sentence of 15 years to life.
Finally, the separate juries found that certain factors in aggravation were proven true in regard to all three defendants. A jury’s finding of factors in aggravation allows the court to impose a higher sentence.
"Trafficking a young juvenile for commercial sexual exploitation is outrageous criminal conduct that devastates its victims leaving wounds for a lifetime and that’s why we work so hard to combat it here in San Luis Obispo County,” said District Attorney Dan Dow. “We honor the young survivor who demonstrated strength and courage during the lengthy process that included testimony in court and rigorous cross examination by three defense attorneys. We thank all the jurors who were on time and gave this important case their utmost attention during the lengthy trial and for their verdicts. I am very proud of our prosecution team that includes partners from many agencies who collaborate with our San Luis Obispo County Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force.”
This three-defendant criminal trial was unique in the following way: all three defendants were tried at the same time, in the same courtroom, using three separate juries, one jury for each defendant.
It is believed that this is the first time this has been done in San Luis Obispo County. The reason for three juries is that the law allows incriminating statements of a defendant to be used as evidence only against that particular defendant in court. [**See further detailed explanation below.]
Here, all three juries heard the bulk of the evidence, but when evidence was taken that was admissible to one defendant and not the others the juries for the other two defendants were not present.
During the two-month trial the three juries heard evidence that Murphy, Hunt, and Jones lured the 15-year-old victim from Nevada and trafficked her for 16 days through various cities in California, ending with her rescue by law enforcement in Pismo Beach in January 2021.
The arrests in this case were made during the January 2021 sixth annual southern California Operation Reclaim and Rebuild anti-human trafficking enforcement operation. San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office Counter-Human Trafficking Team along with the District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation and other local law enforcement agencies from the Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force worked together to provide victims with services, identify and arrest their traffickers, seek successful prosecutions, and disrupt the demand for vulnerable victims by targeting their purchasers.
This collaborative law enforcement operation sends a strong message to our California communities that we will not tolerate modern slavery in our jurisdictions.Jones is scheduled for a hearing on July 25th to determine if his prior conviction for “gross sexual imposition” out of North Dakota is a strike under California Law. If the prior allegation is found true it could double Jones’ potential sentence.
All three defendants are scheduled to be sentenced August 27, 2025, in Department 5 of the San Luis Obispo County Superior Court, the Honorable Judge Timothy S. Covello presiding.The case was investigated by the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office and District Attorney’s Office Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Kimberly R. Dittrich of our Sex Crimes Prosecution Unit. Victim Advocate Divina Diaz provided support for the survivor through the court process.
We are grateful for the contributions from the following agencies: San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation, the Sheriff’s Office Special Operations Unit, the San Luis Obispo Area California Highway Patrol ISU Team, San Luis Obispo County Probation Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation Santa Maria Office, and the Reno Nevada Police Department HEAT Team. Finally, we want to specifically recognize and thank two non-governmental organizations that provided exceptional assistance to this effort: DeliverFund and Freedom Calling.
A copy of defendants’ booking photos can be found here: Hunt, Jones, and Murphy. A copy of the charging document can be found here.
Please contact Assistant District Attorney Eric J. Dobroth at 805.781.5819 with any questions.
** If one defendant’s confession or statement implicates a co-defendant, that statement cannot be used as evidence against the co-defendant at a joint trial. The Sixth Amendment guarantees each defendant the right to confront and cross-examine witnesses against them. Introducing a non-testifying co-defendant’s confession violates this right, as the co-defendant cannot be cross-examined about their statement. By providing separate juries, the potentially incriminating statements of one defendant are only heard by the jury deciding that defendant’s guilt, not the juries deciding the fate of the co-defendants. In summary, three separate juries allow the court to comply with the constitutional requirement that a defendant not be convicted based on a statement made by a non-testifying co-defendant.
