Former Tarrant County deputy constable found guilty of theft, gets 5 years probation
A Tarrant County jury found an ex-Tarrant County deputy constable guilty of theft on Tuesday as he worked private jobs at the same time he was on county time.
But jurors found Keith Dwayne Johnson not guilty of tampering with government records.
Just before noon Tuesday, State District Judge George Gallagher sentenced Johnson, 51, of Fort Worth to five years probation. If he violates probation, he faces going to prison for five years.
Johnson who had worked in Precinct 8 also was ordered to pay $8,000 in restitution.
“We hope this verdict sends a clear message that public corruption will not be tolerated in Tarrant County,” prosecutor Matt Smid said in a Tuesday email. “We are grateful for the jury’s decision and hard work in this case.”
Constable offices are responsible for such services as serving child support and custody orders, enforcing truancy and overseeing evictions. Precinct 8 includes southeast Fort Worth neighborhoods.
Jurors reached their decision Tuesday morning against Johnson who is the first of two cases in which officials are charged in a double dipping scheme that defrauded the county government out of thousands of dollars.
Ex-Precinct 8 Tarrant County deputy constable Jason Lockett also faces a theft charge in the case.
Preinct 8 Constable Michael Campbell declined to comment Tuesday on the juror’s decision.
“They don’t work for the department, Sir,” Campbell said in a Tuesday text to the Star-Telegram.
Johnson had faced a maximum of 10 years in prison on the conviction for theft $2,500 to $30,000. He faced a maximum of two years in prison on the tampering charge if he had been convicted.
Johnson drew checks from Tarrant County in 2016 and 2017 totaling more than $8,500 while he was working to provide security for private employers, according to court documents.
Along with Lockett, two other deputies have been charged and sentenced in the case.
Arnold Holmes, 62, of Fort Worth, the ex-chief deputy of Tarrant County Precinct 8 was sentenced to five years’ probation in March 2018 as part of a plea agreement. He also was ordered to pay $6,600 in restitution.
Former deputy constable Hayward Charles Jr. , 61, of Fort Worth, received a sentence of two years’ probation in March 2018.
This report contains information from Star-Telegram archives.
This story was originally published March 5, 2019 at 10:55 AM with the headline "Former Tarrant County deputy constable found guilty of theft, gets 5 years probation."
