David Dewhurst arrested in Dallas for alleged family violence

DALLAS - The man who was once among the most powerful politicians in Texas spent the night in jail in Dallas.

A woman told Dallas police she was assaulted Tuesday afternoon at a hotel near Dallas Love Field. She blamed former Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst.

Dewhurst was booked into jail on a misdemeanor family violence assault charge and has since bonded out.

According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Dewhurst and his girlfriend, Leslie Anne Caron, got into an argument over a laptop

According to police documents, Caron told officers that Dewhurst was trying to board a Von Lane bus to Houston when he realized she was in possession of their shared laptop and, for reasons not stated by police, began chasing her.

Police say video footage shows Dewhurst pushing Caron to the ground, causing her head to hit a bench. He then took the laptop. Police say footage shows Caron then running after Dewhurst, at which point he pushed her head down and kept her bent over while speaking with someone.

Past images show the couple of two-and-a-half years happy, but this isn’t the first time one of them is involved in an alleged assault.

Caron was charged last year twice with a third degree felony of injury to an elderly person for assaulting Dewhurst. He suffered two-broken ribs on the first occasion.

A grand jury chose not to indict Caron on those charges.

The Harris County DA’s Office now says the other assault charge was dropped just last Friday because Dewhurst wanted the charges dropped against her.

The 75-year-old served as Texas’ lieutenant governor from 2003 to 2015. He was defeated in his U.S. Senate bid by now Sen. Ted Cruz.