The Justice Journal: Vol. 66 (English)

The Justice Journal: Vol. 66

A look at cases recently prosecuted by the Dallas County Criminal District Attorney's Office.

State vs. Justin Frost

Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child

Lead: Megan Bisacca

2nd Chair: Delayna Griffin

DA Investigator: Natarsha Price

DA Victim Advocate: Nathaly Mendez

Investigating Agency: Dallas Police Department

The defendant was found guilty of continuously sexually abusing a child under the age of 14.

 GUILTY and sentenced to LIFE in prison.

State vs. Fidel Cruz

Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child under 14

Lead: Ward Weber

2nd Chair: Aryanna Bradford

DA Investigator: Joe Mundy

DA Victim Advocate: Audri Graham

The defendant was found guilty of continuously sexually abusing a child under the age of 14.

GUILTY and sentenced to 65 years in prison without the opportunity of parole.

State vs. Jose Banda

MAN DEL CS PG 1>=4G<200G

MAN DEL CS PG 1-B>=1G<4G

MAN DEL CS PG ¾,28G

MAN DEL CS PG 1>=1G<4G

Lead: Jui Kothare

2nd Chair: Mason Rodriguez

DA Investigator: Tom Naulty

Investigating Agency: Dallas Police Department

The Crime Response Team of the Dallas Police Department was surveilling an area known for narcotic trafficking in East Dallas when deployment officers saw a car making hand to hand transactions from the passenger side. Deployment notified uniformed officers who stopped the vehicle for having a false license plate that had been altered with electric tape. Upon getting the defendants out of the car, the officers believed that the driver was high and pressed her about what she was nervous about them finding in the car. After her admission of pills, they searched the car and found a black bag filled with unused small baggies, a meth pipe, scale, over 45 grams of crystal meth, over six grams of powder meth, multiple alprazolam pills, heroin, and over four grams of fentanyl pills individually packaged. This bag full of drugs was found on the passenger side where the defendant was sitting and from which deployment officers had seen hand to hand transactions. However, the driver tried to take ownership of the drugs at jail that night, throughout our investigation of the case, and during her testimony at trial. However, she had no knowledge of the contents of the bag at the time of the arrest and the jury did not believe her claims that she used all those drugs on a daily basis.

The defendant was found guilty of simple possession of the heroin, methamphetamine, and alprazolam, but guilty with the Intent to Deliver in regard to fentanyl. At punishment, the defendant had two enhancement paragraphs and so he agreed to plea to 25 years in prison, waiving appeal.

GUILTY and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

State vs. Brodrick Benton

Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon

Lead: Taylor Cowin

2nd Chair: Erik Lisowski

DA Investigator: Claudia Marroquin

DA Paralegal: Andretta Lewis

Investigating Agency: Dallas Police Department

The defendant plowed into a group of cars stopped at a red light at Jim Miller and Scyene Roads due to ingestion of PCP and cocaine. The first victim he hit, a man in a Dodge Challenger, was left permanently triplegic and was unable to speak until three years after the offense.

The defendant was adamant that he should not be punished because the victim was not wearing a seatbelt. The jury disagreed and sentenced him to 24 years in prison.

GUILTY and sentenced to 24 years in prison.

State vs. Bryant Chambers

Aggravated Robbery

Lead: Samantha Jackson

2nd Chair: Abby Parmelly

DA Investigator: Aleciah Taylor

DA Paralegal: Shannon Vanloggerenberg

Investigating Agency: DART Police Department

On May 20, 2025, at 6:45 p.m., the defendant viciously attacked the victim in broad daylight on the busy DART Pearl/Arts District Station platform. The defendant robbed the victim of his duffle bag filled with the victim’s personal items using a “Rambo” style knife by hacking at the victim’s hand multiple times. The defendant fled from the scene and was arrested four days later with the knife sheath still on his hip. During his interview with the DART Police detective, the defendant eventually admitted to the offense after being confronted with video evidence but claimed the bag was his.

With cooperation of the victim, a Good Samaritan, Dallas Fire-Rescue and DART Police Department, the State was able to refute the defendant’s claim and bring him to justice.

GUILTY and sentenced to 18 years in prison.

State vs. Diane Dancer

Theft of Property >=$300k

Prosecutors: Alicia Patterson, Steve Fawcett

DA Investigator: Hoyt Hoffman

DA Forensic Financial Analyst: DeAnna Debenport

Investigating Agency: Dallas Police Department

The defendant was the business office manager for the Autumn Leaves senior living facility. She scammed elderly residents into paying their rent checks to a shell company she created. In fact, the defendant was using the residents’ rent payments for her personal expenses. In total, she stole between $1.8 and $2.8 million dollars from elderly residents over the course of seven years. The senior living facility credited all residents with the payments they made to the defendant and the shell company.

Residents of the facility, family members of residents, and Autumn Leaves employees testified at the open plea.

GUILTY and sentenced to 15 years in prison + restitution in the amount of $1,817,811.97.

State vs. Javier Estes

Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon

Lead: Sarah Hayes

2nd Chair: Loren Collins

DA Investigator: John Schingle and JD Williams

Investigating Agency: Dallas Police Department

The victim was a 23-year-old man who recently moved to Garland from Kansas City. On February 14, 2024, he took a bus to visit an uncle near Jupiter and 635 in Dallas. That evening he was returning to Garland and was standing at the bust stop at Jupiter and McCree.

The defendant, 18 years old at the time of trial, is a documented member of the criminal street gang KTK (Konfirmed to Kill). On the day of the offense, the defendant was riding in the car with several associates, live streaming on social media showing his face and waving a .40 caliber handgun in front of the camera. As the defendant’s vehicle approached the intersection of Jupiter and McCree, the victim was standing at the bust stop listening to music. The defendant pointed his gun out the window at the victim who was standing just a few feet away. Still recording on social media, the defendant shot the victim several times at close range and fled the scene. A nearby Dallas police Officer arrived within 1 minute of the shooting and was able to place tourniquets on the victim and begin life saving measures. The victim was hospitalized but recovered.

Over the next few days, the defendant created various posts describing himself as “Lil Bus Stop” and referencing committing the shooting. Prior to his arrest, he was detained during a traffic stop. During a frisk of his person, a .40 caliber handgun was found. The gun was later tested and determined to have fired all of the cartridges found at the shooting scene.

At trial, the jury found the defendant guilty. The defendant was eligible for probation. The jury sentenced him to 10 years in prison.

GUILTY and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

State vs. Osahon Mikeirabor

Collision Involving Death

Lead: Megan Bresnahan

2nd Chair: Robin Ogbonna

DA Investigators: Victor Vasquez

DA Paralegal: Sacoria Gates

DA Victim Advocate: Sandra Walker

Investigating Agency: Dallas Police Department

On August 6, 2023, the defendant got his vehicle towed. When he went to the two yard to get his vehicle, he learned they did not accept Apple Pay which was the only form of payment he had. The defendant snuck onto the lot to steal back his vehicle. The victim was a tow truck driver who worked at the tow yard, and he was attempting to stop the defendant from stealing his vehicle. The victim was standing in front of the defendant’s vehicle when the defendant drove into the victim. The defendant proceeded to drive erratically and do donuts on the street before hard breaking, launching the victim off of the vehicle and driving over the victim. The defendant left the victim to die in the street so that he could go to a party.

GUILTY and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

State vs. Kristie Rochelle Johnson

Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon

Lead: Basma Raza

2nd Chair: Cassidy Richardson

DA Investigators: Danny Titus

DA Paralegal: Leslie Smith

Investigating Agency: Dallas Police Department

The defendant had been sleeping with the victim’s husband for almost 10 years. One night, when the victim’s phone calls were going unanswered by her husband, she became concerned and tracked him to the defendant’s apartment. The defendant’s front door was wide open and the victim, in her state of upset and shock merely said, “that’s my husband.” A fist fight ensued between all three outside of the apartment and the victim retreated to her car and left, only to realize she had forgotten her phone, so she went back for it. When the victim knocked on the defendant’s door asking for her phone, the defendant stabbed the victim multiple times and chased her down to her car, leaving stab wounds to the victim’s face, shoulder, back, stomach and driver side door. The husband called 911 for his wife (the victim) where officers found her slumped over. The defendant’s attempt at a self-defense claim crumbled on cross examination when she admitted the victim never had a weapon nor did the defendant feel threatened.

GUILTY and sentenced to 5 years in prison probated for 7 years + a deadly weapon finding.