Hopkins County jury sentences human trafficker to life in prison

TYLER, Texas (KLTV) - A known trafficker of women has been sentenced to spend life in prison for his crimes.

According to Eighth Judicial District Attorney Will Ramsay, a jury has delivered a life sentence and maximum fines against Diamonte Paynes, convicted of Continuous Trafficking of Persons, ending a multi-year investigation and prosecution that spanned across North Texas and into East Texas,

The case began with a June 2022 incident in which the defendant, a known pimp operating out of Dallas, according to Ramsay, killed a man and took his body to Hopkins County to dump it.

Evidence presented during the trial showed that the defendant and an unidentified male took the dead man’s truck from Joe Field Road in Dallas, while a young woman—whom Paynes was actively trafficking—was forced to follow in his black Cadillac, Ramsay said.

The group then dumped the body on a county road off Highway 19, north of Sulphur Springs.

While authorities in Dallas County previously reached a plea agreement with the defendant for five years of deferred adjudication for tampering with a corpse and dismissed the associated murder charge, Hopkins County prosecutors pursued a rigorous case focused on the defendant’s long-standing history of prostitution and sexual exploitation of women.

The prosecution successfully argued that the defendant had been operating as a pimp for nearly a decade, trafficking numerous women across the United States, including high-profile locations in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Denver, New Orleans, Arizona, and Florida.

The jury heard about numerous violent acts committed by Paynes as he trafficked these women, Ramsey said. Evidence introduced during the trial further revealed that the defendant’s criminal activity did not cease upon his arrest. While incarcerated in the Hopkins County Jail, the defendant continued to attempt to traffic women and authored over 50 “jail raps” in which he boasted of his lifestyle and detailed his history of exploitation.

• After hearing and seeing the evidence, the jury returned the maximum sentence in each case he was indicted for.
• Continuous Trafficking of Persons: Life Imprisonment and a $10,000 fine.
• Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle (UUMV): 2 years (maximum sentence) and a $10,000 fine.
• Attempted Tampering with Physical Evidence: 2 years (maximum sentence) and a $10,000 fine.

“This verdict sends a clear message that Hopkins County will not be a dumping ground for the violent fallout of criminal enterprises,” says Assistant District Attorney Zach Blackmon. “This office remains committed to seeking justice for victims of trafficking and ensuring that those who profit from the exploitation of others are held to the highest standard of the law.”