A Tennessee man accused of battering his girlfriend and human trafficking was arrested in Miami Beach on Thursday, authorities said.
Keydren Moore, 31, is facing several charges, including human trafficking/coercing sex activity, battery and kidnapping.
According to authorities, human trafficking detectives arrived at a police station regarding what was originally a hit-and-run with injuries. It was later determined that the incident was an aggravated assault with a motor vehicle.
An arrest report said that the victim, a 23-year-old woman, told detectives that Moore struck her with the vehicle. She said she was in a romantic relationship with Moore and that he is her pimp.
The incident started after Moore took the victim’s cellphone and refused to give it back, the report said. As Moore continued driving, the victim tried to leave the vehicle, but was stopped by Moore.
At one point, the report said, Moore stopped the vehicle and struck the victim several times. The victim was then able to break free, leave the vehicle, and Moore accelerated towards her, striking the victim.
The victim, Moore and two other women who were in Moore’s vehicle were taken in for questioning, the report said.
During interviews with the victim, the report said, she told detectives that she’s been engaging in prostitution while she’s been in a relationship with Moore and that he knows. She said often violent with her if he doesn’t get what he wants, and that he is “pimping the other two women but not her.
The victim said she and Moore live in Texas, and the other women, but have been living at different hotels for the past year as they travel, the report said. Moore, the victim said, doesn’t work but sells marijuana and gives the earnings she receives from working as a prostitute to him. The other women also give Moore money from their work.
Detectives, the report said, learned that this wasn’t the first time Moore had battered his girlfriend, and that the victim at one point sought out a protection order against him in Texas.
The other two women told detectives that they’ve seen Moore and the victim engage in previous violent altercations, the report said.
Moore was then arrested and taken to the Turner Knight Guilford Correctional Center.