Suspended Fort Bend County Judge KP George's felony sentencing hearing begins

FORT BEND COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- Sentencing started in the case against suspended Fort Bend County Judge KP George after he dropped a motion to delay the hearing.

George drops delay request

In March, George was convicted of stealing from his donors by making two transfers totaling more than $46,000 from his campaign account to his personal account. It was decided then that a judge would determine his sentence on June 16.

Days before the sentencing, George's defense team requested to delay the hearing until George's other case. George faces misdemeanor charges tied to fake racism social media posts, prosecutors said he was involved with prior to his 2022 re-election.

That trial is scheduled for July. Prosecutors requested that the judge deny George's request and move forward with the felony sentencing.

On Tuesday, George's sentencing hearing began, and 458th District Judge Maggie Jaramillo made no mention of the delay request. The district attorney's office told ABC13 that George's team dropped the motion.

Defense team asks for no prison time

During opening remarks, prosecutors told Judge Jaramillo that George should be treated differently with a sentence because they said, as a politician, he broke the public's trust. If probation is granted, the DA's office said that, as a condition of probation, a substantial amount of jail time should be served.

George's defense team asked for community supervision, arguing that given George has no criminal history, and has already been severely punished with the loss of his political position.

George faces probation to 10 years behind bars for the conviction in the money laundering case. Jurors convicted George in March, but they aren't setting the punishment.

George elected to have the presiding judge set the sentence.

Prosecutors focus on what they believe is pattern of political abuse

George was convicted of stealing about $45,000 of campaign donations. Money prosecutors said he used to buy a home, pay property taxes, and make retail purchases.

During the sentencing hearing, prosecutors started with other incidents. In June 2021, George was pulled over for speeding by a Fort Bend County sheriff's deputy.

During the stop, the deputy said George didn't produce a license and asked him if he knew he was. Although audio was captured at the beginning of the stop from the deputy's vehicle, it cut out about a minute later.

The deputy said he allowed George to leave to attend a county event, and later went to the event and handed him a written warning for speeding. After the stop, George filed a complaint against the deputy.

Prosecutor Lester Blizzard took the stand and told the judge that he investigated George's complaint. He met with George and recorded the conversation.

In the audio file, which was played during the sentencing hearing, George complained of the deputy's tone and questioned if the stop was politically motivated. Ultimately, Blizzard said they took no action against the deputy because they felt he didn't do anything wrong.

Prosecutors are also pointing to political actions they say constitute an abuse of power. They called Dr. Otoniel Cantu-Garcia to the stand. In 2017, he said he met George and became a supporter of his. After George won the judge's race, Cantu-Garcia said he was appointed to the Civil Service Commission.

However, after George was indicted for criminal charges, Cantu-Garcia said things soured. He said he encouraged George to come clean and accept a plea deal. After that, Cantu-Garcia said their relationship wasn't the same. In September 2025, prosecutors said a commissioners court agenda had an item from the judge to remove Cantu-Garcia from the commission.

Prosecutors also highlighted social media posts they said were fake and were used by George and his chief of staff to help him win re-election. The posts included racism claims targeted at George.

During the hearing, a district attorney's digital forensic team member told Judge Jaramillo that after reviewing George's phone and his chief of staff, Taral Patel's phone, he said there were text messages showing the two conspired to create the fake racism posts and to share them on social media.

George's family expected to take the stand

At the start of the hearing, George's wife and two children were sworn in after the defense team said they plan to call them as witnesses. During the criminal trial, none of them were called to the stand.

It's unknown if George himself will take the stand. During the criminal trial, George didn't take the stand in his own defense.

At the start, George's team said he had already faced harsh punishment by losing his role as county judge. George hasn't been permanently removed.

He was temporarily suspended in an unrelated issue tied to a civil complaint from someone who said they were improperly removed from a commissioners court meeting.

After he was removed, Daniel Wong was appointed as an interim county judge. Political experts said if George is sentenced for his felony case, it doesn't mean he's permanently removed.

They said if George chooses to appeal the conviction, he's not officially removed until all of those options are exhausted.