Arlington men sentenced in fentanyl distribution, sex trafficking scheme
Two Arlington men were sentenced last month to a combined total of 80 years in federal prison on charges related to sex trafficking and fentanyl distribution, U.S. attorneys said.
Jamal Howard, 52, was sentenced to 50 years in prison, and 27-year-old Renaldo Rojas received a sentence of 30 years, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in North Texas.
Rojas and Howard pleaded guilty in October 2025 to their roles in the trafficking of an underage girl and the distribution of fentanyl pills, officials said.
In late July 2024, the girl was reported as a runaway to the Arlington Police Department, according to court documents. Rojas provided her with fentanyl and sent photos of her to Howard, offering to connect Howard with the girl in exchange for the drug.
After providing Rojas with the drug, Howard took the girl to his apartment, supplied her with pills, took photos of her and posted commercial sex advertisements for the girl on a website used for that purpose, according to the statement.
Howard trafficked the girl to several individuals and continued distributing fentanyl to Rojas through Aug. 1, 2024, officials said. The transactions between Howard and Rojas totaled more than 5,000 fentanyl pills.
Two other North Texas residents were sentenced in connection with the distribution operation, officials said.
Elnora Jordan, 63, of Arlington, was sentenced to nearly two years in prison on money-laundering charges and 23-year-old Yolanda Gonzales of Hurst was sentenced to one year for communicating with Howard on her cell phone about purchasing fentanyl.
