Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department raided "a massive underground party" in Palmdale Saturday, leading to the arrest of 158 people and the rescue of an underage victim of human trafficking, along with six handguns
Despite the COVID-19 health restrictions on large gatherings and a statewide stay-at-home curfew in place, a huge party took place at a vacant Palmdale residence in the 6300 block of West Avenue M-8 -- allegedly organized by a teen promoter, according to Los Angeles Sheriff Alex Villanueva.
"Parties like these often involve drugs, prostitution, underage drinking and violence," Villanueva said at a news conference Tuesday morning outside the Hall of Justice. "We were able to rescue a girl who was present and categorized as a commercially sexually exploited child," Villanueva said.
According to reporting by City News Service, Sheriff's Capt. Ron Shaffer said the homeowners were unaware the house would be used for a party. The organizers of the party were in the house illegally.
"As you can see, this was a flagrant violation of the governor's health order," Villanueva said. "But also please understand, even without the health order, these actions were criminal in nature."
