OAKLAND — An Alameda man has been arrested and charged with pimping a woman, then robbing her of $600 in cash out of her bra, according to court records.
Alexander Norris, 29, of Alameda, was charged this month with one count of second-degree robbery and one count of pimping, court records show. He was identified as a suspect on March 29, when police say he grabbed the money from the woman’s undergarment during a dispute, and that she was too scared to resist.
Norris has been released from jail after posting $100,000 bail on April 4, records show. He has pleaded not guilty and is next due in court in June for a preliminary hearing, where a judge will review the prosecution’s evidence and determine if there is enough to uphold the charges.
Police say they’ve recovered text messages that verify he was pimping the woman, including where he told her to earn $1,000 per night. He also allegedly encouraged her to “show more skin” when she was out on International Boulevard in East Oakland looking for clients, according to police.
Norris and the woman met years ago and he encouraged her to “join my team,” police alleged in court filings.
Authorities are also investigating claims by multiple sources that Norris and others sell drugs from a smoke shop on International Boulevard, but thus far no charges have been filed regarding that side of the investigation. The business was shot up on April 7, but no one was injured, police said.