Michigan man who filed his teeth into fangs to intimidate human trafficking victims has been accused of ordering various ‘generals’ to do his bidding, including kidnapping women.
Michael Barajas was seen sporting multiple facial tattoos in his Genesee County Sheriff’s Office mugshot.
The 36-year-old man is now accused of building a human trafficking ring called the ‘Massad Squad.
‘He would tell the victim, ‘I’m going to rip your throat out if you don’t do what I tell you to do and you don’t comply,’ Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson said.
It is domain. It’s a kidnapping. It’s grooming.
Two of his ‘generals’ were recently arrested and since then law enforcement officers have filed 20 new charges against the leader of the ring who allegedly held a 20-year-old woman while she was raped by men inside a house for two weeks.
During a recent press conference, Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson shared shocking details about how the kidnapped 20-year-old woman was abused by the fanged criminal and his gang of accomplices.
‘I knew this serial monster was bad, but I didn’t realize it was as bad as what I’m going to tell you today,’ Swanson said Tuesday.
Swanson said that Barajas around Thanksgiving sent an accomplice Alex Matthew Schmidt, 23, and another man in a yellow Hummer to look for women who were ‘vulnerable’.
While searching, the couple found a Woman in her 20s walking on the road near Flint.
Swanson said the couple offered the woman a warm place to stay, a shower and food.
‘These are the basic needs of an individual,’ Swanson said.
‘It is the basic hygiene that he needed so much. That was the toilet hook they used.
The men took the woman back to a house on Marmion Avenue in Flint, where Barajas was waiting.
Swanson said Barajas had not been at the house but fully orchestrated the kidnapping.
The term ‘Massad Squad’ was, I’m sure, in his mind, something he was trying to create to form a trade in the sex industry, Swanson believed.
After the woman was returned to the Flint home, the victim was raped by men while Barajas and his ‘generals’ held her down.
The group of men would use rope or other items, Swanson said.
‘Barajas pointed (a gun) at our victim’s head and said, ‘If you don’t do this, I’m going to kill you,’ Swanson said during the recent press conference.
It was during these attacks that Barajas would use his sharp teeth to intimidate the woman, threatening to slit her throat.
The 20 new felony charges filed against Barajas include 10 counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, as well as intimidation, bribery and weapons offenses.
If convicted, Barajas faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. He is currently being held without bail.
Alex Matthew Schmidt, 23, and Jojuan Najee Howze, 33, were arrested as members of the human trafficking operation.
