D.A. Drops Charges Against Henderson County Commissioner

ATHENS, TEXAS - On the same day jury selection was scheduled to begin, Henderson County District Attorney Donna Bennett dropped all criminal charges against County Commissioner Joe Hall

Ms. Bennett and  Hall's attorney, Mike Head, reached an agreement that prevented a trial. Jury selection was set to begin August 29th..

Ms. Bennett agreed to drop two perjury charges and one charge of abuse of official capacity against Hall.

Hall was accused of using county workers to pave the parking lots at two Baptist churches and then lying under oath about the time it took to complete the jobs.

In the agreement, Hall avoids admitting any wrongdoing.

"Joe's intent all along was to benefit the community," Head told the Tyler Morning Telegraph, "He never had any intent to misuse any property or do anything that would violate the law."

Hall agreed to never again use county resources for private purposes without first getting permission from the entire Henderson County Commissioners Court. He also agreed to pay $1,374 to reimburse the county for costs of repairs to two churches last year.

The district attorney said other commissioners refrained from using official property for such purposes. 'Commissioner Hall was the only one who seemed to not know that'.

Had he been convicted, Hall could have faced up to two years in a state jail and up to $10,000 in fines for the abuse of official capacity charge, which is a felony. He could have faced up to one year in jail and $4,000 in fines for the perjury charges, which are class A misdemeanors.

Hall pleaded not guilty to the charges in May. Shortly before Jury selection was to begin in the 392nd District Court  Judge Carter Tarrance suggested that the matter could be solved in another manner.