Exoneration for Dallas man, gas leak repairs made, false report outcomes: Your Thursday morning roundup

May 31,  2018 By Dom DiFurio and Nicholas Friedman Good morning! Here is a look at the top headlines as we start the day. 🌞 Weather: Sunny skies with a high of 99 degrees. 🔎 Prefer the online view? It's [here](. Quintin Lee Alonzo, who was wrongfully convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison, and his mother, Julie Vazquez, walked out of the Frank Crowley Courts building Wednesday after being declared innocent during a hearing. (Rose Baca/Staff Photographer) Exonerated Dallas man freed 17 years after conviction for murder committed by executed cop killer Quintin Lee Alonzo [spent nearly 17 years in prison for a murder he didn't commit]( — a crime a notorious cop killer had privately confessed to years ago. Alonzo, 38, walked free Wednesday after he was declared innocent during a short hearing before state District Judge Carter Thompson. Thompson ruled that Alonzo had been convicted on false evidence, including witness testimony that identified the innocent man as a murderer. "But for a violation of his constitutional rights, he would not have been found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt," the judge said. "It's the court's hope that you can move past the injustice done to you," Thompson told Alonzo. Defense attorneys and prosecutors had worked quickly to free him so he could attend his daughter's graduation party this week. After the hearing, [Alonzo kissed and hugged relatives and posed for a photo with other men who had been wrongfully convicted.]( Meanwhile: Harvey Weinstein [was indicted Wednesday]( on rape and criminal sex act charges. Commentary: Sex education is better when schools and parents [take their partnership seriously](. (Tom Fox/Staff Photographer) atmos Repairs complete after gas leaks in Garland, Plano Atmos Energy [stopped gas leaks in Plano and Garland]( after contractors damaged the service lines Tuesday morning, officials said. In Garland, five homes were evacuated while the energy company worked to shut off gas to the area, near Justice Lane and Yale Drive, Garland Fire Marshal Mike VanBuskirk said. In Plano, Atmos crews repaired a leaking service line near the intersection of Custer and Apple Valley roads after a a contractor cut a 6-inch service line Tuesday morning. [The repairs were finished by Tuesday afternoon, the company said.]( Also: Two West Dallas residents [filed a federal suit Wednesday]( that alleges HMK Mortgage LLC violated consumer protection laws in sales contracts that don’t give real ownership of the homes. And: Seven young Texans – including 5 from the Dallas area – [advanced to the finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee]( on Wednesday. Nearly two hours of body camera footage shows Sherita Dixon-Cole of Grapevine being pulled over, performing a field sobriety test and being handcuffed and booked into the Ellis County jail. (Department of Public Safety) false report Why a woman who falsely accused a Texas trooper of rape dodged charges but not the mom who set off an alert for a fake baby Sherita Dixon-Cole was not arrested after her bogus rape allegation made national news and called into question the integrity of an officer.  Margarita Levrie, on the other hand, landed in the Grand Prairie jail on a charge of filing a false report to police. Why the disparity in their treatment by authorities? [Read the answer here](. Watch: The story behind [a viral photo of a Dallas officer]( who comforted a tiny crash victim. Meanwhile: H-E-B said it was [recalling certain flavors of its store-branded ice cream]( because pieces of metal had been found in equipment used to process the products. Advertisement (Rose Baca/Staff Photographer) Photo of the Morning After hugging his aunt, Quintin Lee Alonzo, who was wrongfully convicted of the murder of Santos Gauna and sentenced to life in prison, reaches to hug his mother Julie Vazquez [after being declared innocent during a hearing]( Wednesday. Alonzo served 17 years in prison for the murder of Santos Gauna, who was celebrating his high school graduation. Around The Site - Schlitterbahn: Two more employees of the Texas-based water park [have been charged in a case resulting from the 2016 decapitation of a boy]( on a water slide at the company's park in Kansas City, Kan. - Crime: Confiscating drugs and thwarting human traffickers. That's [the mission of the North Texas Sheriffs' Criminal Interdiction Unit.]( - Education: Texas' efforts to launch a comprehensive Mexican-American studies course continues to stumble as [advocates say an unexpected name change has caused division and disrespected students.]( - Politics: President Donald Trump [will meet Thursday with relatives of students killed at Santa Fe High School,]( before heading to Dallas for a high-dollar campaign fundraising dinner. - Editorial: Gov. Abbott shows leadership in [taking steps to improve school safety after Santa Fe shooting.]( - Local bees: Seven Texans — including five from Dallas area — [have advanced to the national spelling bee finals.]( - Development: The Town Council approved amendments to an ordinance that will pave the way for Highland Park ISD [to demolish and rebuild a 92-year-old elementary school starting later this year.]( Sunlight streams into the home as D'ashon Morris, 3, reclines on the couch in Mesquite. (Tom Fox/Staff Photographer) Finally... Pain & Profit He was born three months too early, unable to breathe or eat on his own. But after a year of intense care in a foster home in Mesquite, D’ashon Morris had grown into a bright-eyed toddler who loved to cuddle and crawl. However, he was still very sick and doctors said he needed 24-hour care. Then a giant health care company, paid billions of dollars by the state, decided he didn’t need round-the-clock nursing care to keep him from suffocating. The decision would save Superior HealthPlan as much as $500 a day — and cost D’ashon everything. Under a system set up by Texas, health care companies get a set amount of money per patient. Every dollar the companies don’t spend on health care they can use instead to hire high-powered lobbyists, pay millions in executive bonuses, and buy other businesses. The state knows some companies are skimping on care to make profits but has failed to stop it. Publishing Sunday: Pain & Profit, a multi-part Dallas Morning News investigation into the way Texas treats fragile people who rely on Medicaid, the government insurance program for the poor and disabled. Want to know about this investigation first? [Subscribe for free to The Big Story newsletter]( and have it delivered directly to your inbox. AdVERTISEMENT 👋 That's all for this morning! For up-to-the-minute news and analysis, check out [DallasNews.com](. 💖 Share the love! If you like this newsletter, please forward this email to a friend and [check out our other newsletters here](. 📧 Do you have feedback? Send your thoughts, questions, praise and corrections to [newsletter-feedback@dallasnews.com](mailto:newsletter-feedback@dallasnews.com?subject=). 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