In April 2018, there was an Aggravated Assault offense that occurred at a house on Marcell Avenue in Dallas.  The following day we received an anonymous tip about activity at that house and within a few days of that we received an outcry from an individual who detailed prostitution and possible human trafficking occurring at that house.  The individual identified as the leader of the criminal activities is a man by the name of Tremont Blakemore.  The Dallas Police Department’s High-Risk Victims and Trafficking Unit and the Narcotics Interdiction Unit initiated a joint investigation into Blakemore’s activity. 

Suspect Blakemore was found to be the head of a large-scale prostitution organization operating in the North Texas region. Blakemore and this group has been tied to prostitution activity in multiple cities in Texas and throughout the nation. The victims he has trafficked for the purposes of prostitution come from as far away as Maine, Wyoming and Montana.  He routinely maintains a group of about 20 active females whom he prostitutes for his group’s profit.  Over the years a conservative estimate of the number of women he’s controlled and manipulated in this life of prostitution and trafficking easily stretches into the hundreds.  

Early yesterday morning, September 11, 2018, in a joint effort with members from Dallas SWAT, Dallas Police Special Investigations Division detectives, Dallas Police Fugitive detectives, investigators with the Texas Department of Public Safety CID/THP, Special Agents with the FBI along with the Fort Worth and Lancaster Police Departments, we executed search warrants at the following locations associated with Blakemore:  

12405 Yellow Wood Drive, Fort Worth, Texas

4529 Marcell Avenue, Dallas, Texas

1786 Overlook Drive, Lancaster, Texas

At the house on Yellow Wood we encountered and later interviewed 11 women who had been working for Blakemore’s group.  At the house on Overlook we discovered and later interviewed 4 additional women who also work for Blakemore’s group.  The women were all provided with opportunities for counseling and other services targeted at helping victims of human trafficking and prostitution.

Furthermore, the following individuals were arrested at 12405 Yellow Wood Drive, Fort Worth, Texas:

Blakemore, Tremont    B/M/39   Charges – Aggravated Promotion of Prostitution F/2 and Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity F/1

Gonzalez, Donna          W/F/38   Charges – Aggravated Promotion of Prostitution F/2 and Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity F/1

Hurtado, Peaches        W/F/26    Charges – Aggravated Promotion of Prostitution F/2 and Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity F/1

Because of the complexity of their illegal activities, this investigation remains active and ongoing.  Should we find additional individuals responsible for criminal activity who have been associated with this group or in furtherance of their criminal enterprise, they will face criminal charges as well.  

We want to thank whomever it was that sent the anonymous tip as well as the victims who have come forward detailing their experiences.  We likewise want to thank the Texas Department of Public Safety and our federal partners for their work. 

Finally, we ask that if anyone has information related to this investigation or the activities of Suspect Blakemore or any of his associates, we ask that you immediately contact Dallas Police High-Risk Victims Unit Detective Paulson at 214 671-4217.