Medford, Ore. — Police say a standoff in a Medford neighborhood was connected to sex trafficking.
The incident started when a California woman called Medford police saying her 20-year-old daughter was being held against her will somewhere in the city.
The woman said her daughter was sending text messages saying she was scared and unable to escape.
Before long, police learned the victim was either in a house, or a car with Texas license plates in the area of East 9th and Cottage Streets.
Within 40 minutes of the first call, police say they found the car in question.
The victim was in the passenger seat.
45-year-old Lemarr Mitchell was in the driver’s seat.
Police say Mitchell refused to get out.
That’s when negotiators and the SWAT team showed up.
“We ordered him out of the car, he did not comply with out commands, and subsequently we had to use tactics to extract him from the vehicle,” Lieutenant Kerry Curtis said.
Medford Police now believe the victim was sex trafficked in several states.
Mitchell is in the Jackson County Jail on several charges including promoting prostitution.
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