Man got caught in Oakland undercover pimp sting while out of jail in pending gun case, feds say

OAKLAND — The defendant in a San Francisco gun case was sentenced to two years in federal prison, months after he was caught in an undercover police sting aimed at catching aspiring pimps in the act, court records show.

Goldy Raybon pleaded no contest back in June to being a felon in possession of a firearm. But last Jan. 14, before he could be sentenced, he allegedly approached an undercover officer “posing as a prostitute on the Oakland Blade and offered to be her pimp,” prosecutors said in court filings. That led prosecutors to successfully move to remand Raybon to jail, court records show.

Raybon was sentenced on Jan. 28. His underlying offense was two-pronged. Prosecutors allege he brandished what witnesses believed was an AK-47 in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood on Jan. 8, 2023, prompting people to call 911. When police arrested him, he sake the item was a fake gun, but admitted to stashing a real handgun under a car on Jan. 10, when ATF agents were surveilling him, according to court records.

In the undercover sting, the undercover officer told Raybon, “her previous pimp had beaten her and not paid her properly, to which (Raybon) explained he would treat her well, pay her well, set up photo shoots and help her build a regular clientele, and ensure she could make about $2000.00 a night,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Ivana Djak said in court filings.

“The Defendant referenced being in the pimping ‘game’ for a long time,” Djak added.

Raybon’s attorney filed two sentencing briefs. One, back in October, boasted how “Mr. Raybon is not committing new crimes. He is not using drugs. He is working and going to treatment.”

“Mr. Raybon’s progress should be celebrated, especially in light of what he has overcome, and in light of his criminal history,” Assistant Federal Public Defender Samantha Jaffe wrote in court filings. “Mr. Raybon has, over the course of this case, demonstrated that he has the capacity to change: to become a better member of our community, a better father to his daughters, and a better decision-maker for himself.”

After the undercover sting, a new memo by Jaffe struck a different tone.

“Mr. Raybon knows that he betrayed this Court’s trust in him,” Jaffe wrote, before arguing for a 16-month prison term.

Prosecutors said Raybon couldn’t possess guns due to “eight convictions as an adult, including for robbery, animal cruelty, and controlled substance offenses.”