Man in Slavery Case Freed on $100,000 Bail
A man accused of enslaving and abusing four Latin American immigrant maids, including a Santa Ana woman, is free on $100,000 bail in Las Vegas after his arraignment earlier this week.
La Jolla resident Kenneth K. Kimes, 67, was arraigned Tuesday in Las Vegas before U.S. Magistrate Philip Pro, who scheduled Kimes’ trial for Oct. 7, his attorney, Scott Furstman said.
No bail was set for Kimes’ wife, 41-year old Santee Kimes, who is awaiting a psychiatric examination. She has not been arraigned.
The couple face the same charges. He is to be tried in Las Vegas on federal charges of involuntary servitude, transporting illegal aliens, aiding and abetting, and conspiracy. Each could face a 10-year prison sentence and a $10,000 fine if convicted.
The couple were arrested earlier this month in La Jolla when Maria de Rosario Vasquez, who had previously been staying with relatives in Santa Ana, telephoned her relatives collect from La Jolla where she had been working for the couple at their town house.
She told them the couple had beaten her, refused to pay her, forced her to work long hours, and refused to let her call anyone. Investigators traced the location of the town house from the phone number Vasquez supplied and arrested the couple there.
Similar complaints had been made previously by other women to Las Vegas authorities.
Santee Kimes was convicted July 18 of stealing a $6,500 mink coat from a piano bar in the Mayflower Hotel in Washington but fled that area before she could be sentenced. Her husband is scheduled to stand trial on the same charges Sept. 5
The couple own the Mecca Motel in Anaheim and several other motels.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
