Former Tarrant County Deputy Constable Found Guilty Of Theft By Public Servant
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - After a week of testimony, a jury found former Tarrant County Deputy Constable Keith Johnson guilty of theft by public servant Tuesday morning.
The charge is a third degree felony.
"That's three down and one to go. We hope this sends a message that public corruption is not going to be tolerated in Tarrant County and we respect the jury's verdict," said Assistant Tarrant County District Attorney, Matt Smid. "It's a lot of hard work... a lot of exhibits to go through and we appreciate their efforts."
Johnson, who sat quietly as the judge read the jury's decision, was sentenced to five years probation and must pay Tarrant County $8,062.59.
He was found not guilty in six other counts of tampering with a government record.
Johnson was accused of falsifying his government timesheets to collect thousands of dollars in county pay for hours he didn't work.
Johnson was indicted after a CBS 11 I-Team investigation found him providing private security for Walmart while he was supposed to be on duty for the county.
Defense attorneys argued Johnson was following the orders of a chief deputy who pleaded guilty last year to the same scheme.
The prosecution asked for Johnson to surrender his law enforcement license, but the judge didn't rule he should.
