Tremaine Jones, Joshua Murphy, and Heather Hunt convicted of trafficking a Nevada minor

SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY, Calif. – Three people -Tremaine Quincy Tejon Jones, Joshua Diante Murphy, and Heather Lynne Hunt- were convicted of trafficking a minor for sex and pimping a minor following a successful anti-human trafficking operation in January of 2021.

Murphy was also found guilty of possession and distribution of child pornography and committing sex acts on a 15-year-old and Hunt was found to have trafficked the sexual assault survivor "under force, fear, threats, menace, duress, or coercion" which provided for a sentence of 15 years to life in prison detailed the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office.

The two-month trial was unique in three key ways shared the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office in a press release Thursday: all three defendants were tried at the same time, in the same courtroom, and using three juries -one for each defendant.

The San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office tried the defendants in this way because the law allows for incriminating statements from a defendant to be used as evidence only against a particular defendant.

While all three juries heard most of the evidence, when evidence was submitted during the trail that was admissible to only one defendant, the jury for the other two defendants were not present during the presentation explained the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office.

The San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office believed that this was the first time in County history that this approach has been used during criminal proceedings.

Each of the juries in this case found that certain aggravating factors were true for all three defendants which allows the court to impose a longer sentence noted the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office.

"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 San Luis Obispo County 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."

According to the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office, evidence was presented that the defendants lured a 15-year-old from Nevada before trafficking her for the next 16 days in various cities in California which ended when the girl was rescued by law enforcement in Pismo Beach in January 2021.

All three defendants are scheduled to be sentenced in San Luis Obispo County Superior Court on Aug. 27, 2025.