Pair Guilty in Attack on Dancer, Driver

Two men were convicted of battery and other charges after they beat up an exotic dancer and her driver when she refused to have sex with one of them, prosecutors said Thursday.

Kenneth Price, 30, of Newbury Park and Richard Benn, 30, of North Hollywood were convicted Wednesday of misdemeanor battery for the attack on the 25-year-old Rancho Cucamonga woman and her driver, a 22-year-old Boyle Heights man, said Deputy City Atty. George A. Schell.

A Van Nuys jury also found Price guilty of assault with a deadly weapon and making a terrorist threat, and found Benn guilty of theft and dissuading a victim to report a crime, Schell said. All charges are misdemeanors.

Schell said the men hired the woman through an ad in L.A. Weekly. The woman arrived at Benn’s North Hollywood apartment Jan. 23 and performed a strip tease for Price after she was paid $100, Schell said. “[Price] asked for sex, basically. She said ‘No, I don’t do that. That’s illegal.’ ”

Price then hit the woman with his fist, Schell said. The woman screamed and called 911. Her driver heard her cries and ran to the apartment. Price opened the door and hit the driver in the head with a flashlight, Schell said.

Benn then kicked and hit the driver and the dancer, Schell said, adding that Benn also took the woman’s cell phone.

Neighbors called police. On his way to jail, Price made a death threat against the driver and was overheard by an officer, Schell said.

The woman suffered bruises, Schell said. The driver was hit so hard in the head he suffered memory loss, Schell added.

Price faces a maximum of three years in County Jail, while Benn faces a maximum of 2 1/2 years, Schell said. The men are to be sentenced Tuesday.