Live updates: Johnson County Sheriff Adam King’s trial stretches into ninth day
Over a dozen witnesses have testified so far in the trial of Johnson County Sheriff Adam King, who stands accused of retaliating against the department’s chief deputy over a sexual harassment investigation.
Three law enforcement professionals have testified that the hardest thing they’ve ever done is report King’s alleged sexual harassment. One testified that King put aside another sexual harassment report against a jailer because he considered the allegations to be spiritual warfare by the devil.
Several administrative professionals have, at length, discussed Johnson County’s procedures for timekeeping in the workplace. Defense attorneys for King have argued that former Chief Deputy James Saulter was investigated over his failure to appropriately document usage of vacation time.
Texas Ranger Patrick Garcia, who investigated the initial allegations of sexual harassment against King, resumed his testimony Thursday morning on questioning from the prosecution.
9 a.m.: Texas Ranger suspected ‘clandestine’ investigation
Texas Ranger Patrick Garcia thought there was a “clandestine” investigation going on.
Garcia himself was investigating allegations of sexual harassment by Johnson County Sheriff Adam King last summer, but, at the same time, it appeared that King and others were conducting their own inquiry, Garcia said.
Through secret meetings in parking lots and what Garcia described as a “set-up” conversation, King and those in his orbit were trying to find out who was providing information to the Rangers’ investigation, Garcia testified.
When, in the course of his investigation, Garcia called Johnson County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Richard Hogan on Aug. 7, 2025, Hogan did not inform him that King was listening to the conversation, Garcia said.
Nor did Hogan mention anything relating to then-Chief Deputy James Saulter spreading rumors about an alleged extramarital affair between King and Karen Charles, a former office manager, Garcia said. The rumors later became the basis on which King’s attorneys argue Saulter was placed on administrative leave.
A few days later, on Aug. 13, Hogan met with Saulter alone, Garcia testified.
In this meeting, Saulter made the remarks about Karen Charles that later became the basis of King’s claims about his administrative leave status, Garcia said. Simultaneously, Hogan feigned having no knowledge of the investigation, even though he had spoken to Garcia days prior, Garcia said.
These factors led Garcia to believe that the meeting was a “set-up” to bait Saulter to make the remarks about Charles, Garcia said.
By the end of that day, after a parking-lot meeting between Hogan, King and another individual, Saulter was placed on administrative leave, which constituted a “direct act to silence an informant,” Garcia said.
