Arcola Mayor Fred Burton arrested on several charges, including illegal voting, indictment says

FORT BEND COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- The sitting mayor of Arcola, Texas, spent the night behind bars after being arrested on five separate charges, according to the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office.

Fred Burton has been charged with two counts of illegal voting, misusing personal information, tampering with government records, and fraudulently securing the execution, according to an indictment released Wednesday morning.

The charges stem from offenses committed between 2023 and April 2026, according to records.

One of the indictments alleges that back in 2023 - during a different time when Burton served as mayor - Burton had two City Council members sign fraudulent checks totaling between $30,000 and $150,000.

During that time, documents show he also falsified an estimate from a food project to defraud the city and misused information for a contractor's bid with the city.

Most recently, indictments show that during this year's election in April and last year's election, Burton helped and did not stop at least three people from voting in the Arcola election, despite knowing they did not live in Arcola.

But those who do live in the city tell ABC13 they're now awaiting the justice system to run its course.

"At the end of the day, we're going to have to figure out what the facts are, we're going to have to do digging, we're going to have to think about, just even us as a community, even if the voting fraud or whatever is found to be substantiated or not, the fact that we put them in office and this was the conduct, we have to think through that, we have to navigate that," said Arcola resident Melodie Kent.

ABC13 has covered Burton before. He was seen in a heated confrontation with his predecessor, Veeda Williams, in a parking lot following a years-long feud between the two.

During his fourth-term run for mayor, Arcola police increased his security after a noose was delivered to his office.

Some community members are now critical of his time leading the city.

"Absent Mayor, when I come and ask for him, they say he wasn't there," said resident Bertha Cooper.

Others are hoping the city can be resilient during this time of unrest.

"No matter what happened in the past, whether it's good, bad or ugly, we're here today, this has transpired, and now we as a community will have to figure out how we can move forward," said Kent.

The city of Arcola and city council members are all declining to comment at this time.

ABC13 was unable to reach Burton for comment.

The Fort Bend County District Attorney's office said he faced a magistrate judge Wednesday, and multiple thousand-dollar bonds were set.

Officials said for one illegal voting charge alone, Burton could face anywhere between 2 and 20 years in prison.