KAUFMAN COUNTY, Texas – Earlier this morning, April 11, 2014, Kaufman County Precinct 2 Constable Joe Don Law retired in a resignation letter to Kaufman County officials. inForney.com has since learned Constable Law signed a voluntary confession in his pending felony case for tampering with a government document.
KAUFMAN COUNTY, Texas – Earlier this morning, April 11, 2014, Kaufman County Precinct 2 Constable Joe Don Law retired in a resignation letter to Kaufman County officials. inForney.com has since learned Constable Law signed a voluntary confession in his pending felony case for tampering with a government document.
Constable Law, who has been in law enforcement since 1987, also permanently surrendered any license(s) or certificate(s) issued by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, in a letter signed to the commission on April 1, 2014, which became effective today.
Constable Law signed his sworn confession on April 1, 2014, in accordance with an apparent agreement with the Kaufman County District Attorney's office to dismiss the pending felony charges against Law.
“I have admitted in a sworn statement to the Kaufman County District Attorney that I did commit the offense as alleged in that cause number by falsifying my required TLETS online certification materials,” reads a statement by Constable Law to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement.
The details of the stated agreement were not immediately available at the time of publishing and this article will be updated as they become available.
Constable Law was first appointed constable of Precinct 2 in June of 2004. He was later elected constable of Precinct 2 in 2005, according to Kaufman County's website.
Constable Law was also responsible for starting the “STAR” program (Start Today Accepting your Responsibility), a juvenile community service program in Kaufman County for Class C Misdemeanor offenders to complete court ordered community service constructively. The program served 220 juveniles in two years who completed more than 3,600 hours of community service work in Kaufman County.
Kaufman County online court records do not yet reflect the entry of Law's judicial confession. However, according to officials, a previously scheduled jury trial will no longer take place. The Kaufman County Commissioner's Court will appoint a new constable according to the court's procedures. The process will begin as soon as possible, according to county officials.
[Editor's Note: A previous version of this article included a verbatim statement from Constable Law which was not yet entered into public record and therefore has been removed.]