New trial date for Kendleton mayor facing 2 misdemeanor charges

KENDLETON, Texas (KTRK) -- A trial date is swiftly approaching for the mayor of a small Texas town, who now faces two misdemeanors and is expected in court on Monday.

This debacle stretches back more than a year to December 2022, when Kendleton Mayor Darryl Humphrey was accused of not fulfilling an open records request.

"Well this was one thing that me, myself as the mayor of Kendleton, have never been faced with all these open records," Humphrey told ABC13.

Humphrey and his legal team said the request wasn't filled because the city didn't have the right resources in place, but they planned to fix it.

SEE ALSO: Kendleton mayor promises transparency after indictment: 'No deviating from the truth'

That records request was placed by the owner of the Lazy KRV park, Todd Doucet.

"So you're going to tell me you've been mayor for 12 or 15 years, and you're going to tell me you don't know how an open records request operates?" Doucet asked.

Doucet had submitted the request because his RV park's water bill suddenly jumped hundreds of dollars, and he felt he was being unfairly charged despite the city saying they were within their rights.

"I had been paying the same amount for seven years, which was about $100 a month, and it went to $700 a month," Doucet said.

Councilwoman Sherri Shultz spoke to ABC13 back in August about the council only learning about charges against the mayor from ABC13 and never the mayor himself.

"There's a lot of questions, obviously. Something I think we all need to sit down and talk about. I wish they would trust in their council to tell us when things like this happen so we don't have to find it out from the public," Shultz said.

ABC13 also reported in Kendleton when Humphrey got an unapproved 60% pay raise, and the city secretary, Christian Flores, got an unapproved 13% pay raise.

Humphrey said his raise was accidental, and he refunded the city. Although, he said Flores deserved the raise.

Flores was fired in August 2023 after locking journalists and council people out of city hall. Humphrey remains in office despite calls for him to step down.

All in all, Humphrey faces a charge of failing to fulfill open records, a class B misdemeanor, in December 2022; and an abuse of official capacity charge, a class a misdemeanor, for allegedly overcharging Doucet in July 2023.

Humphrey's trial date for both misdemeanors is set for Monday, Jan. 8, in Fort Bend County. His lawyer told ABC13 that he expects the trial date to be pushed back.

For more news updates, follow Lileana Pearson on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.