Prosecutor: Woman accused of running Pocatello brothel presented ‘girls’ as car accessories

POCATELLO — An additional charge of harboring prostitutes has been filed against a Pocatello woman initially charged with procurement for prostitution.

During what was scheduled to be a preliminary hearing Tuesday, Magistrate Judge David Penrod asked Bannock County Prosecuting Attorney Erin Tognetti to provide verbal argument in support of the new charge.

Liyun Ma, Tognetti said, was the lease-holder for the Lucky 7 Massage Parlor in Pocatello. When police officers served a search warrant at the business, they found signs in the massage rooms providing patrons with a phone number and the advice to save it in their phones as “car interior accessory store.” The sign, according to Tognetti, said customers would receive a message from that number informing them of an “update of car interior accessories” when new girls arrived at the parlor. Officers believed the girls were exchanging sex acts for money.

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Ma, 43, was initially charged with one felony for procurement for prostitution. During a Tuesday hearing before Magistrate Judge David Penrod, her defense attorney, J. Scott Andrew, requested additional time to form a defense for the new felony charge of harboring prostitutes.

Andrew said he had learned of the new charge this week and was not prepared to argue the charges.

After hearing arguments from both sides, Magistrate Judge David Penrod accepted the request and reset the preliminary hearing for April 2.

Ma was arrested March 6 when the Pocatello Police Department Street Crimes Unit served a search warrant at the Lucky 7 Massage parlor on South 4th Avenue. The warrant was obtained following a six-month investigation into Ma and the massage parlor.

During the service of the warrant, officers took Ma and another woman into custody. The other woman told officers that Ma — or, as employees at the parlor knew her, the “Boss” — ran the parlor and told employees what to do, like taking off clothing and touching customers sexually. She said she was brought from China to work at the parlor.

Ma, who speaks little English, was taken to Bannock County Jail without an interview after requesting an attorney.

Arguing in support of the new charge, Tognetti said an amended complaint, including the second charge, was filed one day after the initial complaint — before Andrew was assigned to the case.

Andrew, a deputy with the Bannock County Public Defender’s Office, was assigned to the case after Ma was declared indigent by the court, meaning she could not afford her own attorney.

Tognetti said as part of their investigation, officers seized Ma’s property, including her car and a safety deposit box containing more than $100,000 cash.

The prosecuting attorney added that, while surveilling the parlor, officers saw Ma at the business “every single day,” while other “girls” made frequent short stays there before leaving to be replaced by others.

Additionally, officers found condoms in every room of the massage parlor along with “thousands of condoms” in Ma’s car.

Penrod accepted the second charge, then informed Ma, through court-approved Mandarin translator Yi Yi Johnson, of the penalty that would come if she was found guilty. Through Johnson, Ma responded, “You guys already told me that.”

Andrew requested Penrod grant Ma release on her own recognizance, saying he needed her assistance in gathering witnesses and evidence for the case and could not afford the $250,000 bond with her assets seized.

Tognetti adamantly argued against Penrod granting that request.

Ma, she said, represents a “substantial flight risk.” As part of what Tognetti described as a “very well-funded, very large, essentially, human trafficking ring,” Ma had people who would benefit from her fleeing and could afford to help her do so.

“Everything points to” Ma being a flight risk, Tognetti said.

Following brief consideration, Penrod said he was “not inclined” to change Ma’s bond amount, due to the “nature of the allegation” listed in the charge documents and claims that she could be part of a well-funded organizations spanning the state and country, as Tognetti described.

Following the hearing, Ma was returned to the custody of the Bannock County Sheriff’s Office with her bond remaining at $250,000.

Though Ma has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean she committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.

If she is found guilty, Ma could face up to 40 years in prison.

She will return to court on April 2, when the preliminary hearing will resume before Penrod.