MURRIETA —— Operating out of a Murrieta home, a group of men calling themselves "Pimp'n Ho's Daily" recruited runaway girls —— some underage —— then used them as prostitutes, Murrieta police said Saturday.

One of the men police say was involved, 20-year-old Travis Elliott Thompson, was arrested Friday night in San Diego while two others remain on the run.

A judge issued warrants Wednesday for Michael Durrell Ward, 20, and Mohammar Eduardo Richards, 19, according to Riverside County Superior Court records.

"They essentially enslaved these runaways and made them dependent on them for housing, food and clothing," Murrieta police Sgt. Dennis Vrooman said Saturday.

They would often meet the teen girls they recruited in public places where young people typically gather, such as fast food restaurants, Vrooman said.

"Any teen they felt was suitable would be enticed by offers to make large amounts of money," the sergeant said.

Then, using the Internet to advertise the girls, the men would arrange meetings between clients and the girls for sex, Vrooman said.

The meetings were sometimes in motels or hotels in Southwest County, or the girls would be driven as far away as Hollywood, he added. Other times, Vrooman said, the men would take the girls to known areas of prostitution in San Diego and Hollywood where the girls would then solicit sex as streetwalkers.

The girls split the money they were given with the operators of "Pimp'n Ho's Daily," Vrooman said.

Murrieta police say they have determined that the group qualifies under state law as a criminal street gang, he said.

Authorities say the gang had been operating in San Diego for about four years.

But pressure from a San Diego Police Department investigation, as well as an apparent desire to expand the operation into Southwest Riverside County, led them to move to Murrieta, Vrooman said.

Murrieta police first became aware of suspicious activity at a home on Gatano Drive shortly after Ward and Richards moved there after the first of the year, the sergeant said. Thompson frequently visited the Murrieta home, Vrooman said.

"They brought attention to themselves right away," he said.

Neighbors called police after seeing a lot of unusual traffic at the home, Vrooman said, and because a number of apparently underage girls seemed to be with the men at the house.

On various occasions, police found runaways that officers connected to the home, Vrooman said. Those runaways were returned to their parents.

Murrieta police also became aware of an ongoing investigation by San Diego police of the men and "Pimp'n Ho's Daily."

Vrooman said several search warrants were served at the Murrieta home a couple of months ago and police recovered property reportedly stolen during robberies and carjackings, mostly in San Diego County. Officers also seized at least three computers, he added.

The men were not home at the time the warrants were served, Vrooman said.

When police served the search warrants, "it put a damper on their ability to continue to operate," Vrooman said. The men abandoned the Murrieta home and officers suspect they may be back in the San Diego area.

The arrest warrant for Ward alleges a number of charges including pimping, unlawful intercourse with a minor and participating in a criminal street gang, according to court records.

Richards' warrant alleges robbery, possession of stolen property and participating in a criminal street gang, records state.

Thompson was booked at Southwest Detention Center in French Valley on charges of pimping and pandering, vehicle theft, possession of stolen property and participating in a criminal street gang, a jail spokesman said Saturday. He is being held without bail, the spokesman added.

Murrieta police ask that anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Ward and/or Richards call 911 or the Murrieta Police Department at (951) 696-3615.

A $1,000 reward is also being offered by San Diego County Crime Stoppers for information leading to the arrest of Ward and Richards. Calls to Crime Stoppers can be made to (888) 580-8477 and tipsters can remain anonymous.

Vrooman said Ward and Richards may be in either of two vehicles. One is a champagne-colored 1996 Cadillac with California plates 5JGV227, the other is a silver 1992 Cadillac Seville with California plates 4WTT961.

Contact staff writer John Hall at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2628, or jhall@californian.com.