James Saulter, recently fired as chief deputy, must now testify against Sheriff Adam King in a criminal case, raising concerns over King’s alleged retaliation.
JOHNSON COUNTY, Texas — The chief deputy of the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office has been fired just days before he is expected to face off in court against Adam King, the sheriff he is scheduled to testify against in an ongoing criminal case.
James Saulter recently lost his job as chief deputy, according to his attorney, Christopher Cooke, who described the emotional toll the firing has taken on Saulter and his family.
“I think he is more worried at this point about how he’s going to put food on the table for his family than he is about his own emotions,” Cooke said.
Cooke explained a termination letter sent by Sheriff King on May 12, stating Saulter was fired for failing to appear for a required Internal Affairs interview scheduled that morning.
“What the public doesn’t know is that the Internal Affairs investigation was being run by a friend of the sheriff, someone who he has on his defense team in his criminal case,” Cooke said.
Saulter is expected to testify against King, who has been indicted on two felony counts of retaliation against a witness, one misdemeanor count of abuse of office related to sexual harassment allegations, and the sheriff faced an aggravated perjury charge accusing him of lying to a grand jury under oath.
WFAA reached out to Sheriff King and his attorney, Bill Mason, multiple times by phone and email, but did not receive a response.
Following a court hearing for King in March, Mason defended his client, saying, “He is a fine man. I’ve known Adam King since the 1990s.”
King is currently working under a court-ordered hybrid schedule while remaining in charge of the sheriff’s office.
“He’s been allowed to be around his victims, and now he is terminated, the main witness in the criminal prosecution against him next week,” Cooke said.
Cooke said Saulter has already turned in his department-issued property, including his gun, badge, and county computer, as he now searches for another job while preparing for the upcoming court proceedings later this month.
The Adam King case has had many unexpected turns and twists, and Cooke says he could never have imagined them, especially since he has known the sheriff for years.
“If you’d have told me two years ago that what has happened was gonna go down this way, I wouldn’t have believed it,” said Cooke. “He is a different man from the man I supported for Sheriff. And he’s a different man than he was 10 years ago. It’s truly been heartbreaking to watch and now, to see the fallout of Chief Saulter and his family; he now has no income. It has a cascading effect.”