ARLINGTON, Texas — Two Arlington men have been sentenced to a combined 80 years in federal prison for their involvement in sex trafficking a juvenile and distributing fentanyl, according to the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas.
Jamal Howard, 52, received a 600-month sentence on January 30, 2026, for charges including sex trafficking through force, fraud, and coercion, conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, distributing fentanyl to a person under 21, and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments. Renaldo Rojas, 27, was sentenced to 360 months on January 15, 2026, for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and distributing fentanyl to a person under 21. Both men were indicted in June 2025 and pled guilty in October 2025.
“Tragically, sex trafficking and drug trafficking are nearly always intertwined, escalating the horrific harm to victims in these cases,” said United States Attorney Ryan Raybould. “I applaud the tremendous work of HSI and Arlington Police Department that led to the victim’s rescue in this case.”
According to plea documents, a minor female was reported as a runaway in late July 2024. Rojas provided her with fentanyl and sent Howard photos of the minor, offering to connect him with her in exchange for fentanyl. Howard then transported the minor to his apartment, supplied her with fentanyl, and posted commercial sex advertisements for her online. Howard trafficked the victim to several individuals from late July through August 1, 2024, and distributed fentanyl to Rojas during this period.
On August 1, 2024, the North Texas Trafficking Force, including agents from Homeland Security Investigations and the Arlington Police Department, recovered the minor victim in Arlington, Texas, along with evidence of Howard’s large-scale fentanyl distribution.
Two additional individuals were convicted for their roles in Howard’s drug trafficking activities. Elnora Jordan, 63, of Arlington, Texas, pled guilty to conspiring to launder monetary instruments and was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison. Yolanda Gonzales, 23, of Hurst, Texas, was sentenced to twelve months in federal prison for using her cellphone to communicate with Howard about fentanyl transactions.
The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations and the Arlington Police Department, and the case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Allyson Monte.