LOS ANGELES — A tattoo artist and his daughter have been charged with kidnapping a 46-year-old woman in Las Vegas and sexually assaulting her in Palmdale.
Stanley Alfred Lawton, 55, of Riverside, and Shaniya Nicole Poche-Lawton, 22, of Palmdale both face one count each of kidnapping to commit robbery, attempted murder, kidnapping from outside the state, and forcible rape as well as three counts of first-degree ATM robbery.
Stanley Lawton has prior convictions for attempted murder and robbery between 1984 and 1988.
The victim, who knew the suspects, was allegedly kidnapped at gunpoint in Las Vegas and driven to the Antelope Valley where she was sexually assaulted and forced to withdraw money from several ATMs, the prosecutors said. The defendants reportedly then dumped her in the desert, where she was able to seek help, the prosecutors added.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Captain Eduardo Hernandez said, “It’s a vicious case; it’s at gunpoint, by force. That victim is then transported across state lines, held in a house inside a room for at least a week. We don’t know what kind of conditions she was held in. At some point she was sexually assaulted and then left for dead.”
Bail for Stanley Lawton is set at $4.5 million and $3.5 million for Shaniya Poche-Lawton.
If convicted as charged, Stanley Lawton faces a possible maximum sentence of 260 years to life in state prison and Shaniya Poche-Lawton faces more than 71 years to life in prison.