“These allegations are baseless and laughable. Sadly, the State is desperate and has reached a new low,” said defense attorney Bill Mason.
JOHNSON COUNTY, Texas — New court filings in the criminal case against Johnson County Sheriff Adam King reveal prosecutors’ plan to introduce a new allegation involving an alleged affair and threats.
The allegations involve a woman connected to the sheriff dating back more than two decades, prosecutors say. King has vehemently denied the claims.
According to the State’s First Amended Notice of Intention to Use Extraneous Offenses, filed this week in Johnson County’s 413th District Court, prosecutors allege King met a woman identified in court documents as “T.C.” around 1999 at an Applebee’s restaurant in Cleburne.
The filing claims King told the woman he was a beer salesman, despite allegedly already working in law enforcement at the time.
King and his attorney, Bill Mason, sent WFAA the following statement about the court filing:
“These allegations are baseless and laughable. Sadly, the State is desperate and has reached a new low. These allegations are false, and the State knows they are false. The Sheriff denies these allegations.”
Still, prosecutors allege the two began what the filing describes as a sexual relationship and met at hotels and motels in Fort Worth about seven times. Court records state the woman was married at the time and later became pregnant.
According to the filing, the woman eventually cut off contact with King and later learned around 2004 that he was in law enforcement.
The filing further alleges that around 2014 or 2015, King and another law enforcement officer arrested the woman on a capias warrant in Johnson County. Prosecutors claim King threatened the woman during the arrest and told her if she continued telling people her son was his child, he would “either put her 6 feet under or put her in prison for the rest of her life.”
The filing states the woman remains fearful of King and retaliation.
The allegations are among dozens of prior acts, statements and accusations prosecutors say they intend to introduce during King’s upcoming June 22 criminal trial.
King has pleaded not guilty to multiple charges, including official oppression and sexual harassment related allegations involving employees at the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office.
“Well, I’m just ready to get my name cleared. We are ready for this to be over. It’s taking a toll on us,” King told WFAA during a May 14 pretrial hearing. “The Lord has given us strength.”
During the hearing, dozens of people packed the courtroom in support of King. They watched as the judge heard and ruled on several pretrial motions from both sides.
WFAA’s legal contributor, defense attorney Bree West, read over the new filing in the Adam King case. West explained one of the reasons the filing comes almost a month ahead of King’s trial date.
“When you have a criminal matter in the state of Texas, the prosecuting entity has to disclose to the defense all of the things that they intend on using against that criminal defendant,” West said. “Part of the guilt-innocence phase of trial and during the punishment phase of trial. So, what the state of Texas is doing in this particular case is saying, hey, listen, we have found out information that we think is extraneous in some way.”
King’s legal team refuting the state’s claim is no surprise to Attorney West. As a defense attorney herself, she expects the sheriff’s team to fight back.
“I would imagine that this defense team is doing exactly that. And there if there is anything in that notice that is really going to hurt them or has the potential of a picture of their client, that’s in a really negative light or has the potential of being overly prejudicial as it relates to the guilt innocence phase,” West said. “They are researching like mad right now, figuring out how they can try to keep that out of out of the guilt innocence phase of trial.”
The newly filed notice also includes allegations prosecutors claim demonstrate a pattern of retaliation, intimidation and harassment involving employees and witnesses connected to the investigation. The filing itself does not constitute proof of the allegations and prosecutors would still need court approval before introducing some of the evidence at trial.
Jury selection is scheduled to start on June 22, followed by opening arguments. The judge has set aside a week for the trial.