Harris County Judge Frank Aguilar suspended 'pending criminal matter', DA Kim Ogg reacts
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas - Harris County Criminal Court Judge Frank Aguilar, who presides over the 228th District Court, has been suspended, records show.
According to the State Commission on Judicial Conduct, Judge Aguilar has been suspended "pending criminal matter".
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According to the Commission, Rule 15a suspensions may be issued by the Commission after a federal or state grand jury has handed up an indictment or information charging a judge with a felony offense or a misdemeanor offense involving official misconduct or a crime of moral turpitude.
Last month, Galveston County authorities formally charged Judge Aguilar for allegedly assaulting a family member on New Year's Eve.
Frank Aguilar
According to the probable cause affidavit, Aguilar allegedly punched a woman several times in the face and then placed his foot on the woman's neck after an argument.
Notably, the 228th District Court is the venue for prosecutions related to the botched Harding Street police raid in which police killed two residents and several officers were injured. That case has yet to go to trial.
District Attorney Kim Ogg welcomed the development as one which could speed up the long over-due legal reckoning for rogue police officers involved in the botched Harding Street raid.
Ogg reconfirmed that her prosecutors are ready for trial on cases against multiple HPD defendants, including former Detective Gerald Goines who is charged with two counts of murder.
"It's good news for everyone involved in the case from the charged police officers to the victim's families to the community at large who deserves the truth. Our lawyers have been working with the defense to plow through whatever motions are left. We need those motions heard so that we can get these cases to trial. It strikes me that both sides ought to be ready to get this over with and the state is going to be ready," said Ogg to FOX 26 Political Reporter Greg Groogan.