Dallas, TX
How did a known pimp walk free in Dallas sex trafficking case?
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/dmn/U37S3DYAWVC3VPIYIPCXTQMGKM.jpg?ssl=1 "How did a known pimp walk free in Dallas sex trafficking case?")
The family of a girl who disappeared from a Dallas Mavericks game and was later found forced into prostitution rightfully has many questions about why the man she left with that night was cleared by a grand jury.
We have questions, too. And they’re compounded by our discovery that the man, Emanuel Jose Cartagena, 34, has twice before been charged in similar cases. A 2015 Harris County case of compelling prostitution of an underage person was dismissed, records show. But that was only after his conviction in a 2016 case of promotion of prostitution of a person under the age of 18, a second-degree felony.
Records show Cartagena was placed on two years’ probation in 2018 for that case; that was extended for one year at least once. The details weren’t immediately available, but the case was closed in February 2022, just two months before the North Richland Hills girl went missing from American Airlines Center while watching the basketball game with her father.
He reported her disappearance after she went to the bathroom and didn’t return. Surveillance video showed her leaving with Cartagena, and police later said he took her to a Dallas home and sexually assaulted her. She was found 10 days later in an Oklahoma City hotel after illicit photos advertising her for sex were found online.
Others involved in her trafficking have since been convicted on various charges in that state. But only Cartagena was charged locally, and he faced just one charge of sexual assault of a child. He was no-billed on Oct. 30.
Her family’s attorney, Zeke Fortenberry, understandably outraged, makes a compelling point for local justice: “A 15-year-old girl with no phone, wallet, ID or car doesn’t end up in Oklahoma unless she’s trafficked. And the first domino of that event … occurs in Dallas.” He said the family believes both police and prosecutors botched the case.
Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot told us “this office reviewed all of the evidence that was presented to the grand jury, and we are confident that any possible criminal offenses were presented.” But the family and the public deserve a fuller explanation in this high-profile case, which is every parent’s nightmare. More could be said without treading on laws preserving grand jury secrecy.
Creuzot also said that prosecutors followed his general policy of not recommending an indictment to a grand juriy. We can’t help but wonder if that was a mistake.
We know a suspect’s prior offenses typically aren’t admissible before grand juries. But prosecutors surely would have known of Cartagena’s criminal background and could have pushed for an indictment.
The victim by law was too young to consent to sex with Cartagena. How not even a sexual assault case, let alone a trafficking one, moved forward is at once both heartbreaking and troubling — and deserves more explanation.
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With the official NFL schedule coming this week, the Dallas Cowboys have revealed when, where and against who their Week 1 contest will be.
The Cowboys announced that they will square off against the New York Giants on the road in Week 1, with the game set for Sunday, Sept. 13, at 7:20 p.m. CT. So, it’s prime time for the Cowboys to start the season.
This is the second game we know about for the Cowboys this year. Of course, we know they will be playing on Thanksgiving, also.
The official schedule will drop on May 14, the NFL announced last week. Schedules for all 32 teams will be revealed on ESPN and the NFL Network, but each team will unveil its own schedule on social media, also.
The Cowboys were always likely to play a road game in Week 1 because of an Usher and Chris Brown concert taking place at AT&T Stadium that week.
Dallas will also be impacted by an Ed Sheeran concert in Week 7, so that’s another potential road game. They could also play on Monday or Thursday that week, or have a bye.
Cowboys’ strength of schedule
According to Warren Sharp of Sharp Football Analysis, the Cowboys are not going to have an easy road to make the postseason.
The Cowboys have the fourth-toughest schedule in the NFL going into the 2026 season, with only the Arizona Cardinals, Miami Dolphins and Carolina Panthers having tougher slates.
Dallas’ schedule is also the third-toughest in the NFC, and the most difficult in the NFC East.
Sharp does his strength of schedule rankings based on win totals from Vegas oddsmakers rather than utilizing the previous season’s records because that metric doesn’t factor in offseason changes.
The Cowboys will play home games against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers, Tennessee Titans, Baltimore Ravens, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders.
On the road, Dallas will square off against the Giants, Eagles, Commanders, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers.
Of those opponents, seven of them made the postseason in 2025, a list that includes the Jaguars, 49ers, Eagles, Texans, Rams, Seahawks and Packers.
All of those teams should be as good in 2026, and teams like the Colts, Titans, Ravens, Bucs, Giants and Commanders have a very real chance to be improved as well.
It won’t be an easy road for Dallas to get back to the playoffs in 2026, but there’s at least hope following a defensive overhaul.
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Dallas weather: May 10 morning forecast
Today is by far our most active day of the extended forecast. After our Red River Counties got some severe storms overnight, we expect a mostly quiet morning. Isolated storms are expected to start forming just after noon. The severe threat begins mid-afternoon in a more scattered fashion, before a cold front ushers in widespread rain and strong storms this evening.
DALLAS – A powerful cold front sweeping across North and Central Texas on Monday is expected to trigger a wave of severe thunderstorms capable of producing large hail, dangerous winds, and isolated flash flooding.
Severe weather in North Texas
Timeline:
The National Weather Service in Fort Worth warned that while showers and storms will begin developing Monday morning, the risk of severe weather will peak during the afternoon and evening hours as the front advances southward.
We are tracking two distinct phases of the storm system. Initial storms are expected to be “discrete,” or individual cells, which carry a high risk of large hail exceeding 2 inches in diameter. As the evening progresses, these individual storms are forecast to merge into a large cluster or broken line.
Once the storms consolidate, the primary threat will shift toward damaging straight-line winds. Forecasters warned that wind gusts could exceed 70 to 75 mph, speeds capable of downing trees, damaging roofs, and causing power outages.
In addition to the wind and hail threats, the system is expected to dump significant amounts of water. While most areas will see standard rainfall, there is a 10% to 15% chance that some locations could receive up to 4 inches of rain. Isolated flash flooding can happen over these locations.
Live Radar
We are watching how morning activity near the Red River might influence the speed of the cold front. The exact position of that front will be the primary factor in determining where the most intense storms initiate.
Residents are encouraged to monitor local forecasts and have multiple ways to receive weather warnings throughout the evening.
The front is expected to push through the region by Tuesday morning.
7-Day Forecast
The Source: Information in this article is from the National Weather Service and the FOX 4 Weather team.
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