A Dallas man who killed a woman after she beat him in a basketball game in 2022 will spend 20 years behind bars thanks to a recent plea deal.
Cameron Hogg, 32, signed a plea deal with Dallas County prosecutors ahead of his trial for the killing of 21-year-old Asia Womack on October 3, 2022. He pleaded guilty on Tuesday in exchange for a 20-year sentence, which the victim’s family recently suggested was not nearly enough.
“It’s a slap in the face because it’s pretty much saying that Asia’s life was only worth 20 years. That’s basically what they’re saying,” Andrea Womack, Asia’s mother, said, according to Fox 4 KDFW.
As previously covered in The Dallas Express, Asia had been friends with Hogg, with her mother saying at the time that she supported him while he was in jail and even referred to him as a brother.
Yet Hogg and Asia got into an argument the day of her murder when she beat him in a pickup game at T.G. Terry Park in South Dallas, which is in Council Member Adam Bazaldua’s District 7. Shortly after, Hogg drove up to her and a friend as they were walking in the 4100 block of Hamilton Avenue. He got out of his vehicle and shot her four times, fatally wounding her.
Womack told Fox 4 that District Attorney John Creuzot’s office — which has been previously accused of allegedly being too soft on violent criminals — did warn her that a plea deal might be arranged with her daughter’s killer. Although the outcome isn’t exactly what she hoped for, she will still have her chance to address Hogg in a victim impact statement during his hearing on February 8.
“I forgive him. But at the same time, I just want him to see the hurt. I just want him to see the hurt that’s on my face,” Womack told Fox 4. “You can’t imagine what’s in my heart. Just to be able to look at him and face him and get some closure.”
In Dallas, the murder rate rose by 15% between 2022 and 2023, according to the City’s crime analytics dashboard. The vast majority of murder victims have been and continue to be black or Hispanic males.
Despite having launched a targeted campaign against violent crime, the Dallas Police Department has struggled to lower the number of homicides seen in the city due in part to a longstanding officer shortage. DPD fields approximately 3,000 officers despite a City report recommending closer to 4,000 to ensure public safety.
This fiscal year, DPD will have just $654 million for operations, with City leaders opting to budget its police with considerably fewer tax dollars than other high-crime municipalities, such as New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago.
Comparative studies between Downtown Dallas and Fort Worth’s city center show that the former regularly sees more crime, as previously covered in The Dallas Express. The latter is patrolled by a dedicated police unit and private security officers.
