Rains County Judge indicted on felony witness tampering charges
Rains County Judge indicted on felony witness tampering
Rains County Judge Linda Wallace faces felony witness tampering charges, accused of attempting to coerce a clerk in a case involving a fellow judge who himself faces charges related to official oppression and tampering.
RAINS COUNTY, Texas - Rains County is just 70 miles east of Dallas with a population of 12,000. There’s commotion about County Judge Linda Wallace, who was charged with felony tampering with a witness on Wednesday, after a grand jury indictment.
Linda Wallace
What we know:
Officials in Rains County tell FOX 4's David Sentendrey that county judge Linda Wallace presided over both the commissioner’s court and misdemeanor cases.
The special prosector said she examined multiple allegations against the judge and these felony tampering allegations are what went to a grand jury.
If convicted, Wallace faces 2–10 years in prison.
Linda Wallace
Van Zandt County district attorney Tonda Curry was appointed special prosecutor in this case, after Rains County prosecutors recused themselves to prevent a potential conflict of interest.
"However, if a person does not have any prior felony convictions, they are eligible for probation," said Curry.
"It’s not unusual for them to recuse themselves, ask a judge to appoint a special prosecutor. Usually that turns out to be somebody from a neighboring county."
What Happened:
According to the indictment, Judge Wallace coerced a clerk to withhold testimony in a case involving her superior, Justice of the Peace Robert Jenkins Franklin.
Back in May, Franklin was indicted on charges of official oppression and tampering with a witness. He allegedly made a death threat to convince a felony suspect to accept a plea deal.
"Dead men can't testify": Rains County Judge indicted after alleged threat
Rains County Justice of the Peace Robert Jenkins Franklin has been criminally charged with official oppression and tampering with a witness following allegations he threatened a man to take a plea deal and coerced his chief clerk.
Franklin also allegedly tried to convince his chief clerk to falsify an affidavit. The same clerk that Judge Wallace allegedly tried to get to withhold testimony.
"Yes, it was a county employee," said Curry.
What they're saying:
Judge Wallace bonded out of jail on Wednesday morning. 20 minutes after she was booked in, FOX 4 called her. Wallace returned the message, saying, "No comment."
"I don’t expect any additional indictments involving this defendant," said Curry.
No additional indictments are expected. However, ethics questions remain about Judge Wallace and her ties to Justice of the Peace Franklin.
FOX 4 obtained court records showing Wallace recused herself from presiding over a case in April after prosecutors raised concerns about her "personal bias" and "impartiality."
Dig deeper:
Prosecutors alleged that Wallace would not sign off on a woman’s plea deal for DWI because the state didn’t offer Justice of the Peace Franklin the same deal when he was arrested for DWI last year.
Prosecutors say Wallace said, "We can’t even cover our own."
Franklin is currently suspended and even though Wallace resigned, Curry says the law dictates that she’s still the county judge for now.
"So, until there is a new county judge in Rains County appointed under the law, she can still act as county judge," she said.
The Source: Information in this article was provided by an interview conducted by FOX 4's David Sentendrey and previous FOX 4 reporting.