| Born December 10, 1973, Michelle Araujo served as Justice of the
Peace in Floyd County and Lockney City Judge
from 1999 to 2008. She helped with the Jr. High
track meets and coached little dribblers. She and her husband, Romeo
Araujo owned a liquor store in neighboring
Briscoe County. Everything seemed to be going
well for the young JP until March 2007. Judge Araujo, 33, was arrested Saturday,
March 10 2007, for shooting her husband, multiple times in the stomach at the Araujo home seven miles north of Lockney. She
was brought before Judge Penny Golightly at
approximately 3:15 p.m. and charged with
Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon. Charges
of attempted murder were added later.
In January, 2008 Araujo pleaded guilty to
aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and
received a $5000 fine and ten years probation.
The attempted murder charge was dropped and she
agreed to vacate her Floyd County JP position.
The guilty plea didn't end the former judge's
problems with the law. The State Commission on
Judicial Conduct had previously suspended her
with pay in April 2007 after a misdemeanor
charge of official oppression was lodged against
her. The charge alleged Judge Araujo threatened
to use the authority of her office to ruin the
quality of a citizen's life.
The Texas Alcohol
Beverage Commission filed a complaint, March 16,
against Michelle Araujo for selling alcohol to a
minor from a liquor store (Bruskie's Liquor) the
judge and her husband own in nearby Briscoe
County. The sale of alcohol is prohibited in
Floyd County. Floyd County was one of 46
prohibition or entirely dry counties in the
state of Texas.
In August of 2014 Araujo was once again
in the news when she was relieved of her duties
as manager of the Lockney Housing Authority
after she was allegedly involved in a fist fight
with former employee Marilyn Walker in July of
that year. As a result, The U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development accused the
Lockney Housing Authority of committing
violations when hiring the unqualified and
convicted criminal judge .
“Specifically, the Authority … allowed a
conflict-of-interest by hiring the board
chairman’s daughter as its director,” HUD said.
An inspector general’s report said Michelle
Araujo, had “significantly mismanaged”
operations, exhausting public housing funds. The
report noted her inability to gain access to
secure computer systems essential in the job
because of her criminal history.
On September 5, 2017 Michelle Araujo appealed
the decision to revoke her probation by the
110th District Court, Floyd County. The appeals
court overruled Araujo's appeal and affirmed the
trial court's judgment.
Araujo is currently in the Crain Prison Unit in
Gatesville, Texas. She is projected to be
released in June 07, 2030 but could be released on
parole as early as July 07, 2021.
Sources:
Castro dealing with scandal-laden
HUD
Texas Department of Criminal
Justice Offender Information Details
Michelle Araujo v. The State of Texas Appeal
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