Trouble in store for Bartlett Mayor as a result of a collision in Austin, Texas
The Bartlett mayor, who denied having a role in an Austin hit-and-run collision last week was charged Wednesday in connection with the incident. Bartlett is a a small town in Williamson County.
While the Austin Police Department charged Bobby Hill, 61, with leaving the scene of a collision, there is much speculation that he left the scene to avoid another DWI charge.
Austin Municipal Court officials refused Wednesday to release a copy of the arrest warrant, citing a new policy under which they say the document is not public until an arrest is made.
Hill could not be reached for comment and was not in custody Wednesday evening. The Class B misdemeanor charge is punishable by a jail sentence of up to 180 days and a fine of up to $2,000, the same punishment range as a first time DWI.
In an unrelated matter, the Texas Rangers closed Bartlett City Hall for about an hour Wednesday and searched it.
Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley confirmed that the search took place but declined to comment on what authorities were investigating. The search warrant was sealed.
Hill said Friday that one of his children had the car at the time of the accident.
The hit-and-run happened about 5 p.m. Thursday when a white Cadillac Escalade, registered to Hill’s wife, rear-ended a Toyota Tacoma on the upper deck of southbound Interstate 35.
The driver of the Cadillac fled the scene. Witnesses described him as a white man with short graying hair, police said. Coincidently, this description fits Hill as well.
In August, Hill was ticketed in Williamson County for speeding. During the traffic stop, he denied he was speeding, according to a video recording.
“I think you’re harassing me,” Hill told the deputy who stopped him. “You been wanting to do this a long time. I hope you stay out of Bartlett. If you don’t, I’m calling the sheriff.”
Hill was convicted of drunken driving in Travis County in 2003 and served 18 months’ probation, according to public records.
Click here for the full story as reported in the Austin American Statesman
posted by Ken at 9:50 AM
Bartlett Mayor seems to be headed for trouble.
In a bold and unusual move, representatives from the Williamson County District Attorney’s office along with the Texas Rangers raided Bartlett City Hall.
Bartlett is nestled in northern Williamson County — northeast of Georgetown.
The small town’s mayor is now facing arrest.
Around noon Wednesday, the Williamson County DA’s office along with the Texas Rangers searched Bartlett’s city hall seizing a computer along with several documents.
“They indicated it was part of an ongoing grand jury investigation, and that that’s all that they could say. Certainly wouldn’t want to make any speculation of what they were looking at or who they were looking at,” Bartlett Police Chief Michael Lummus said.
A Williamson County judge sealed the search warrant. District Attorney John Bradley told KXAN he won’t identify the targets of the investigation for fear that information will disappear.
But this all comes the same day that Bartlett Mayor Bobby Hill was charged with leaving the scene of an accident that happened in Austin last Thursday.
According to the Tribune Progress newspaper, firefighters tried to flag down the driver of a white Cadillac Escalade immediately following the accident. It’s registered to Hill’s wife.
Firefighters even went as far as knocking on the windows but the driver described as a man in his 60′s with grey hair did not stop.
KXAN NBC Austin tried to get a comment from Bartlett Mayor Bobby Hill, but unfortunately, while someone was home, no one would answer the door.
No one returned their calls.
This isn’t the first run in Hill has had with the law.
Public records indicate in August 2003, Hill was picked up for driving while intoxicated in Travis County. He was later convicted. In 2004, he was reportedly part of the city council that violated the state’s open meetings act when three city employees were denied a public hearing before being fired.
The Williamson County District Attorney remains tight lipped about Wednesday’s raid and won’t tell us if there is any connection to Wednesday’s charges and the removal of that computer and documents.
Anyone in law enforcement will tell you it’s very unusual when a city hall is the subject of a raid.