Crime Fix with Angenette Levy - Texas Mommy Helped Hubby Run Prostitution Ring: Cops

Episode Date: April 17, 2026

Michael and Ashley Ketcherside are both behind bars after investigators say the Texas couple ran a prostitution operation out of their own home for nearly a decade. Authorities allege the case extends beyond the couple, with a former police chief and officer also charged, and evidence outlined in a criminal complaint pointing to a broader network tied to the investigation. Law&Crime’s Angenette Levy breaks down the latest — and why prosecutors say more arrests could still be coming — in this episode of Crime Fix a daily show covering the biggest stories in crime.Host:Angenette Levy  https://twitter.com/Angenette5Guest: Anthony Osso https://www.instagram.com/janthonyosso/CRIME FIX PRODUCTION:Head of Social Media, YouTube - Bobby SzokeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinVideo Editing - Daniel CamachoGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

I believe in justice and I know that the truth will prevail like it always does. A mom of three from Texas is accused of running a prostitution ring out of her own home. An investigators say a city police chief was tied to it. But that may not be where this ends. I'm Ann Jeanette Levy and this is crime fix. Michael and Ashley Catcherside presented themselves as a typical Texas family. Outings with their kids, day-to-day life, all out in the open. But according to investigators, there was an entirely different operation

running behind closed doors. This couple, Michael and Ashley, are accused of running a prostitution ring out of their house for nearly a decade. And get this, the local police department was apparently involved. That's the allegation. Not just involved, but the police chief himself is accused of being a part of it. The former godly police chief, Matthew Cantrell, is accused of finding boyfriends for his own wife, essentially pimping her out. That's according to a criminal complaint, one we're going to take a closer look at later, but there's more, much more. Prosecutors say this wasn't just about sex, it was about power,

the catcher sides and the chief allegedly working together to compile secret information on people they saw as enemies. City council members, school board trustees, the former mayor, This insane case takes us back to March 31st of 2026. That's when investigators executed a search warrant at the catchersides home in Godly, Texas. According to the Johnson and Somerville County's district attorney's office, police were already investigating the catcher sides as part of an ongoing probe. They say they found two cell phones, a personal phone and a burner phone. That's according to a criminal complaint in the case. We'll come back to what police say they found on those phones later. Then two days later, on April 2nd, authorities arrested Michael Ketricet, on a charge of continuous promotion of prostitution. They also arrested former godly police officer Solomon Amatoia. He was charged with soliciting prostitution. Five days after that, on April 7th, former godly police chief Matthew Cantrell was arrested and charged with continuous promotion of prostitution.

Now here's where it gets weird. At the time of those arrests, Ash, Ash, catcher side, the wife, was not charged. Instead, she went on camera. She gave an interview to Fox 4, a TV station based in Fort Worth, and she defended her husband. He's a great husband, an amazing father to my three kids, and I believe in the justice system. She also denied being a prostitute. However, the New York Post is reporting that she was convicted twice previously in 2012 and 2016 of doing just that. So she was living on the outside then, in her house. house, not in jail, but that didn't last for long. One of the former godly police officers, Solomon Amatoia, according to a criminal complaint, once he was in custody, he started talking.

Investigators say Omatoia told them that he solicited Ashley Catcherside for sex. In exchange, he did her yard work and babysat her kids, so bartering, I guess. On April 14th, authorities arrested Ashley Catcherside and charged her with racketeering. Johnson County Jail Records show her bond was set at $200,000. Her husband, Michael, already in custody on prostitution charges, also got hit with a racketeering charge. Jail records show his total bond was set at $450,000. It appears Michael and Ashley Catcherside are still in jail while the others, Matthew Cantrell and Solomon Amatoia, have both posted bail. Now, we requested records on all of the defendants, and we were only able to get our hands

on Matthew Cantrell's criminal complaint. It's the only one that's not sealed. And here's what jumped out at us. Investigators described what they believe was an ongoing operation that went on for a really long time. The criminal activity originally investigated was connected to an ongoing pattern of racketeering. The pattern of racketeering was linked to co-defendants Michael and Ashley Catcherside. This activity spanned the course of nearly 10 years. And according to investigators. This wasn't just going on behind closed doors. They say they found evidence of it directly on devices tied to Ashley Catcherside. Remember the burner phone I mentioned earlier that investigators seized? Investigators say that phone was determined to be where Ashley conducted most of her illegal

prostitution activity arranging clients or Johns. Now as for Matthew Cantrell, he and Omatoia, according to the complaint, were well acquainted with Ashley and Michael, and they both have been to Ashley and Michael's residence on occasion. But investigators say it went way beyond just knowing them. Cantrell is accused of paying Ashley directly. The complaint states defendant admitted to being a paid subscriber too and having paid money to Ashley Catcherside's only fan's account.

According to the complaint, Cantrell was also using his badge to help her. Defendant would solicit, officers to obtain computerized criminal histories on several individuals for investigative purposes. So where does this leave us? The catcher sides are both sitting in jail on racketeering charges. Cantrell and Omatoia, they are out on bond and the DA's office says more charges could be coming. Okay, so we have a lot, a lot to talk about with this case. So I want to bring in Anthony Osso. He is a criminal defense attorney based in Texas and a former prosecutor. Anthony, there's a lot here. There's a lot there. There's a lot we don't know, though, because the documents, the charging documents for the

catcher sides, Ashley and Michael, remain sealed. But we do have this probable cause statement for Matthew Cantrell, who right now is charged with a third-degree felony of promoting prostitution. one of the people he's accused of promoting prostitution with is his wife. He's accused of like pimping out his wife. But he's also accused in these documents of paying Ashley Ketcherside money to her only fans account. She apparently had an only fan's account. We've learned that. We've also learned that Ashley Keterside was charging a thousand bucks an hour, allegedly.

That's the allegation being made by prosecutors here. for sex. So what could be going on here? Because the catcher sides are charged with racketeering. And that's basically organized crime. Right. So they're accused of running an organized crime operation, which would be a prostitution ring, I guess. What do you think is going on here since their documents remain sealed?

We know that the investigation is ongoing. Well, Angelette, I think we're looking at the tip of the iceberg. Okay, so typically when investigations are sealed and documents are sealed, that means that investigators and the police force are still working to find out more evidence and potentially make more arrests. I imagine based on what we know about what we've seen in the Cantrell's probable cause document and sort of what we heard thus far about their relationship to the catcher sides that I think there are potentially more arrests with regard to police officers that were soliciting prostitution from the catcher sides, as well as possibly additional charges with regard to Mr.

Cantrell. I think when they start to look through these devices that they seize during these search warrants, phones, computers and things like that, I think a lot more evidence is going to be uncovered. And you make a good point there, because the investigators said when they went and did the warrant at the catcher sides home, they found two phones. So they said, they say that Ashley Ketcherside had two phones. She had her personal phone, which everybody has a personal phone. Right.

She also had this burner phone. And that was like what they're going to say was, oh, this was the work phone. She wasn't conducting, you know, she wasn't setting up meetings with Johns on her personal phone. She was using the burner phone. Right. And so she has denied this. Like she did an interview on TV saying, you know, like, no, we didn't, nobody did anything wrong here. you know, nobody's doing this.

But the cops are saying, well, guess what? We've got the goods, you know. So where does this case go? Because it seems like if you've got the phone and you've got the only fans account, you should be able to get a lot of information if you're the cops. Well, it is the textbook example of why when something like this comes up, rather than going to the media and making a statement about it, you should go to a lawyer and consult whether you should talk or not.

And I think it's interesting when we look at the probable cause document in the Cantrell's case. You've got a police chief that has allegedly made a non-custodial statement that is inculpatory and basically admits to every element of the crime of soliciting prostitution. So I think this case is just a classic example of why when your investigation begins and you're a suspect in it, get a lawyer. from here, you're right. They've got a lot of evidence at this point. And it takes time to sift through phones and sift through laptops and things like that. And so I think as they uncover more and more and more information, they'll probably find more witnesses. And if this, we'll call it racketeering organization, kind of like it's been described in the documents, was going on

for a decade, I've got to think that there are a lot of tentacles here. for investigators to follow and kind of latch on to. So is it possible since the catcher sides court documents are still sealed and there is an ongoing investigation? Is it possible the catcher sides, you know, even though they're charged with racketeering, that they're not the top of this? Is there going to be maybe somebody above them? What is your feeling on that?

What if they're just the mid-level people? It's hard to say at this. point and that's oftentimes how investigations work especially and oftentimes investigations will start at the state court level and then they can they can become federal and then you have just opened entirely different can of worms we always say don't make a federal case out of it but depending on what's uncovered in there if there are communications with high-ranking officers from state and city agencies like a police force with knowledge that crime is taking place they're engaging in it

Who knows what we're going to find? So again, like I said earlier, I think this is sort of a tip of the iceberg moment. And I think the fact that they clearly have enough evidence to go forward on charges against the catcher sides. I think the fact that these investigations are, or at least that part of the investigation is being sealed, just goes to show that the investigators feel they have a lot more to uncover. So I'm sure people are sweating within that police department. It almost sounds to me, since we have Solomon. Almatoya, who he was like the former police officer. We have

Matthew Cantrell, the former police chief, which I'm just like, oh my God, what the heck. It makes you wonder what's going on in these towns across the country. You've got like a police chief all messed up in this. Allegedly, I should say, because he's accused at this point. But according to this document, he sat down and talked to the cops, which makes me wonder if he's considered, because he's out on bail. If these two are considered cooperating witnesses and they're going to get a deal because they're like, you know what? We did some bad stuff, but we are not going down. We are not going down for this.

So, you know, they always work their way up the chain. Right. Well, I got to say with reference, I think the catcher side have a better opportunity to do that than do the Cantrells, especially Mr. Cantrell. I mean, you're a police chief. There's really no forgiveness. You're supposed to be. the chief law enforcement officer in the city. And so I don't see him getting a pass or him being a cooperating witness that gets a deal here. And I think one thing that's interesting that we haven't heard a lot about, I mean, I know we've heard miscatcher's side receiving $1,000, having an only fans. And so there are aspects of what was going on that maybe lend to a potential defense of this is sort of a swingers open relationship.

this is sort of a cuckold relationship. This really wasn't a commercial enterprise. The payments weren't for sex specifically. So again, we don't know enough yet to say how sticky these charges are for these individuals. It'll be interesting as this unfolds over time. Yeah, it really will be interesting. And whether or not there will be more charges filed against the catcher sides. I don't know that.

But their documents are sealed for now. But that doesn't mean. once this case goes to a grand jury, that more charges won't be filed? Because right now, it seems to me, they were arrested on a warrant. Absolutely. I think, I think, again, I think this is just the beginning. And once investigators go to these phones, and like you said, they might be able to, they could turn the catcher sides into cooperating witnesses, offer them some sort of deal. And that's what, that is how they sort of move up. up the chain of command if there is a higher level of corruption that they're intending to uncover

and prosecute. So it, you know, this could just be the catapult for them into a way deeper and more powerful line of crime. So you think it's possible that the catcher sides are the middle of this and not the top? It's definitely possible. I think, and I think this just the facts that, This fact set alone just goes to show you can't script anything in our line of work one, and nothing should surprise you because this is sort of just a crazy storyline, but it's real. And so for us to find out more that there was more going on and that this was just, again, tip of the iceberg, I keep going back to it, that wouldn't surprise me. There's a lot of mention about the city council members with regard to the civil suit that

Ashley Ketcherside was facing. she apparently was engaged in some type of civil lawsuit. There was mention of in these documents about members of city council possibly being targeted. And Matthew Cantrell is allegedly feeding information to Ashley about the civil suit and using his police powers to like run criminal backgrounds on people for her that he shouldn't be doing. You're only supposed to do that if you have cause to do that. Right. So, you know, that's super bad news for him. I mean, so there's this other layer of stuff going on.

So it sounds like, you know, there's a lot of, there's a lot there, there, when it comes to just that city of godly, godly Texas. So, I mean, they may just be kind of trying to drain the swamp there, too. That's a good point. And, you know, I think clearly we didn't really get into it, but there's a definite abuse of power charge to be made against. Matt Cantrell, but yeah, this could be a means for an agency to clean up corruption within the small city like Godell. So, you know, we'll see. I can't, again, until we see the, until they release the documents with regard to the catcher sides, there remains a lot of unknowns. Yeah, totally a lot of unknowns. There must be some interesting information in there for them to

keep all of that sealed, but then release this document. One thing that I thought was kind of really weird in this. It's like Ashley Keterside is accused of, in this document, of charging $1,000 an hour for her alleged prostitution services. However, this Solomon Amatoia is apparently, he tells investigators, according to this affidavit that he is having sex with her. and getting services from her in exchange for doing yard work and babysitting her kids. It's like some weird bartering. How bizarre is that? Have you ever seen such a thing?

No. Prostitutes typically don't and escorts typically don't settle for chores. You don't see the bartering system as much. It's typically cash. And especially, we kind of talked about this before we started, but it's just really no different than your standard pimping situation. If it's street pimping or if it's high-level escort pimping, it's a money game. And so I think from the way I view this from a defense perspective is that you could really seize on Omatoya's statement and say, look, this isn't payments for sex.

This is an ongoing relationship. And sex was just a part of the greater relationship. Interesting. One last thing that I want to point out, too. it sounds like Matthew Cantrell's wife is cooperating. She's been interviewed and she's, you know, according to what's written in these documents, sounds like a victim here since her husband was arranging dates

with what's called boyfriends on a kick app. So she is going to be a witness, I think, who could be very compelling in this case. Right. I agree. Like my sort of domestic violence red flags are going off. Yeah. A thousand bucks an hour versus 200 bucks an hour are two entirely different amounts. To say that Ashley Catcherside wasn't a willful participant, I don't think we know enough.

But to hear that Ms. Cantrell was being set up and that the payments were $200, it's either, again, I think the defense perspective is going to be, well, this is sort of a cuckold swinger relationship. The payments weren't real. I think there was evidence of payments, but I don't think there was evidence of payment for every sexual transaction they had with. these boyfriends they found on kick. Also, they're calling them boyfriends. So it'll be interesting to go on. I know she's cooperating in that she has admitted that the police chief was on kick and looking for people. I haven't heard anything to suggest that he was forcing her to engage in these acts.

And I think if they find something through the phones or they find witnesses that have a deeper viewpoint into the relationship, that isn't an officer, that isn't a brother in blue with Matt Cantrell, it'd be interesting to see if there was a level of compulsion because then you take the charge against Cantrell from third degree to second degree, and it's a different level of exposure. Yeah, it sounds like trafficking to me. Agreed.

And that's maybe part of that statute, but just really awful. And let's hope that the residents of Godley really get some answers. here because they deserve it. Anthony, also, thank you so much. It's been great talking to you. Likewise, thanks. All right. So that's it for this episode of Crime Fix. I'm Janette Levy. We'll keep an eye on this case for you. Remember, you can always watch us on YouTube and you can watch and listen to us on Spotify. So check us out there. I'll see you back here next time.