Texas judge linked to road-rage case, records show
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A Texas judge is linked to a road rage incident in which he's accused of pointing a gun at another driver and attempting to run the vehicle off the road, according to officials and police records.
A woman who called 911 on April 28 told dispatchers the driver of a Mercedes tried to run her Toyota Camry off the road in Corpus Christi, according to a police "call for service" log.
The woman provided police with the license plate number of the Mercedes, saying a man "pulled a gun on them," according to the log.
The Mercedes is registered to Nueces County Judge Guy Williams, vehicle records show. Despite Corpus Christi police responding to the scene, no police report was available through an open records request and Williams' name doesn't appear in the log that was released.
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Williams said he can't comment on a pending investigation and would "cooperate fully with the authorities."
The log doesn't indicate if officers talked to Williams or if any arrests were made. Assistant Police Chief Mike Alanis said any reports were turned over to Texas Rangers.
The woman who made the 911 call and her husband told the Caller-Times on Tuesday they don't want to comment about the incident.
The woman told officers the driver of the Mercedes had a 9mm handgun during the incident, according to the log.
District Attorney Mark Gonzalez said Tuesday morning that he wasn't aware of accusations against Williams but "would look into it."
Later that afternoon, First Assistant Matt Manning released a statement on behalf of the office about the allegations.
"Because a report was made on a matter allegedly involving an elected official, our office referred the matter to the Texas Rangers and to the office of the attorney general so as to not have even the mere appearance of impropriety," Manning said.
A spokesman for the Attorney General's Office said the office would not comment or deny whether there's an active investigation.
Police Chief Mike Markle said the judge sent him a vague text message a day after the report was made to give his contact information to pass along to the detective.
“He certainly didn’t even allude to what the incident was,” Markle said.
Markle said his department sent the case to the Texas Rangers to avoid a conflict of interest.
Police Lt. Chris Hooper, a department spokesman, said given that officers often testify in Williams' court it's best for another agency to investigate to avoid "the appearance of impropriety or favoritism."
Williams, 67, is a Republican who has been on the bench since 2011. His court hears felony crimes and civil cases. Williams, who received the Purple Heart while in the Marines, also serves as the presiding administrative judge for the local Council of District Judges. He is one of eight state district judges for Nueces County.
As of Tuesday, Williams was still scheduled to preside over the council's regular monthly meeting on Wednesday.
Nueces County Republican Party Chairman Mike Bergsma said he knows and likes Williams and hopes the reported incident is "an exaggeration."
“I hope the story is not true and if it is then it’s a terrible shame,” Bergsma said.