Texas Justice

Police say East Dallas man who shot burglar will not face charges

It's no secret that Texas gun owners have a lot of protection when it comes to using deadly force to defend their home and property. Police say that Emilio Paez, 40, did nothing wrong by shooting a man burglarizing his storage shed in East Dallas.

According to police, around 5:30 am on June 24, Paez awoke to a security alarm at his home in the 2700 block of Blyth Drive. He grabbed his .45-caliber handgun and headed outside with four witnesses in tow.

That's when Paez spotted a man leaving his storage shed with two weed eaters. Police say Paez fired at the suspect six times, hitting him at least twice.

The suspect dropped the stolen lawn equipment and fled the scene. Police found Festus Johnson, a 35-year-old man matching the description of the burglar, bleeding from multiple gunshot wounds a few blocks from the scene of the crime. Johnson was transported to Baylor Hospital and treated for his injuries.

Johnson is being charged with burglary of a building. The Texas Penal code allows for the use of "deadly force to recover stolen property during a nighttime theft." Dallas police spokesperson Monica Cordova says Paez will not face any criminal charges for shooting Johnson.

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Media News

Dallas Morning News seeks 40 employees to take voluntary buyouts

It's unusual for a newspaper to turn down revenue.

Courtesy photo

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The Dallas Morning News is looking to cut its workforce by 40 people.

According to a release, DallasNews Corporation, the parent company of The Dallas Morning News, is offering buyouts to 40 full- and part-time positions, or about 6 percent of its entire staff.

The "offer" is being made across all departments to eligible individuals at The News and Medium Giant, the company's media and marketing agency.

The buyout represents their efforts to become profitable.

According to Poynter.org, the company has not had a profitable quarter since Q4 of 2021, and ended its most recent quarter with a net loss of $0.9 million due in part to declines in print advertising revenue.

In June 2023, the company exited an "unprofitable business partnership" with Vericast, and slashed operations at Al Día, its Spanish-language publication, which is now a digital-only product. It also discontinued Briefing, its Sunday "quick read" newspaper.

The release says that this will still allow the news department to maintain coverage throughout Texas while helping to reduce overall headcount and non-headcount expenses.

The buyouts are anticipated to take place in October.

The DMN is not the only Texas publication to be cutting back on staff: In August, Austin-based nonprofit outlet The Texas Tribune laid off 11 staffers including copy editors, visual team, reporters, and an editor, which were the first layoffs the site executed since it was founded in 2009.

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