FORT BEND COUNTY, Texas – New search warrants related to the arrest of Fort Bend County Judge KP George have been released.
The judge is currently out on bond after he was booked into jail Thursday night. He is facing a misdemeanor charge of misrepresenting the identity of a candidate and is accused of using a fake social media account to influence the 2022 election.
The search warrant documents state the judge may have tried to factory reset one of his cellular devices before authorities seized it on Sept. 18. Louis Caltzontzint, a Texas Ranger with the Texas Department of Public Safety, swore under oath that the information in the search warrant is true, and is referred to as the ‘affiant’ in the documents.
“Affiant temporarily detained KP George, and observed a cell phone in his hand,” the document states.
“Affiant instructed George to put the phone down,” it continues. “Affiant observed George to pick the phone back up. Affiant spoke with Ranger Ryan Christian who was also on scene. Affiant learned from Ranger Christian that he also observed George manipulating his phone and had to instruct George to place the phone back down. Affiant learned from Special Agent [Andrew] Lott that upon seizing three cellular communication devices from George’s person and vehicle, Lott observed the Samsung phone to have more than 15 unsuccessful passcode attempts. Special Agent Lott told Affiant he thought it was odd. Special Agent Lott explained to Affiant that Samsung devices are equipped with a security setting that if enabled will factory reset the device after 20 unsuccessful passcode attempts.”
The documents also go into more detail about alleged messages George exchanged with his Chief of Staff Taral Patel to coordinate fake social media accounts to benefit himself.
“Affiant also observed text messages from Patel to KP George that tend to suggest that KP George may have known that Patel was using fake social media accounts to benefit KP George’s re-election campaign. On June 1, 2022, months before the September 2022 posts, Affiant observed the following text from Patel to KP George in reference to an apparently negative social media response to a burn ban signed by KP George:
‘They are just blowing up our social media. I will use fake account to counter them.’
Affiant observed KP George to respond, ‘thank you...’”
Patel is facing several charges himself and is still in the race to unseat Fort Bend County Pct. 3 Commissioner Andy Meyers.
Patel was arrested in June on a felony charge of online misrepresentation.
Why is George facing a misdemeanor instead of a felony?
If both George and Patel were involved in the same alleged scheme, why is Patel facing more serious charges?
Erin Epley, a criminal defense attorney in Houston, has the same question.
“I haven’t seen the evidence in this case, so I certainly can’t answer in regards to how it’s applied here. But for example, if I walk in and rob a bank and you are waiting outside, to be my getaway driver, we’re both guilty of that aggravated robbery, I couldn’t have committed it, but for you. So you aided and abetted your party to the offense. You would be charged with the same crime. What I don’t understand is why. Why? The county judge was charged with a misdemeanor, and his, (at least it appears to be), his accomplice was charged with felonies,” Epley said.
Epley said that the answer could lie in how the information was presented to the Grand Jury for each defendant.
Grand Jury proceedings are not publicly disclosed.
