HARRIS COUNTY, Texas – 18-year-old Corey Hodge could be a poster guy for Breaking Bond.

“This is clearly you are breaking your bond conditions,” said Andy Kahan with Crime Stoppers.

On April 17, 2021, police say Hodge shot and killed a 17-year-old man, and wounded an 18-year-old at 1445 Lakeside Estates Drive.

Then on Aug. 19, 2021, he was charged with murder and aggravated assault.

Just two months later, in October of 2021, he had the resources to post bonds totaling $270,000.

But a month later, court documents state he can’t afford the monthly fee to obtain a GPS device.

“The monthly GPS fees aren’t that much, so in other words, he’s basically saying he doesn’t want to have a GPS on him, or he doesn’t want to have to pay for it,” said Houston City Councilmember Michael Kubosh.

“It’s clearly obvious by the documentation, he had zero intentions of abiding by any condition of his bond,” Kahan said.

In addition to a GPS monitor, Hodge was under 24-hour home confinement.

“You are supposed to be on a GPS, you are supposed to be under 24-hour house arrest. None of that happened within days and weeks of getting out on bond,” said Kahan.

In a bond condition violation report, Harris County Pre-trial Service tells 176th Criminal District Court Judge Nikita Harmon about 37 times Hodge violated his house arrest. But it took more than a month for anything to happen.

“If this would have happened in 2015, the first time he offended, the judge would have surrendered his bond, called him in. They would have had him arrested and brought to court,” said Kubosh.

In a statement, Harris County Pre-Trial Services tells us, “As a practical matter, we make every effort to bring non-compliant defendants into compliance as quickly as possible, including any necessary contact with the defendant.

“Mr. Hodge was repeatedly advised of his obligations by his pre-trial officer. He was also admonished by the judge on April 22 and was continued on supervision.”

“His further noncompliance resulted in revocation of bond.”

“How many others are out there like this that we don’t know about?” said Kahan.

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas – Harris County‘s chief law enforcement officer is delivering the hard, painful truth.

“We are outmanned. We are outgunned. The release of repeat violent offenders leads to exactly what you would think it would – more crime and this type of public policy should end,” said Kim Ogg, Harris County District Attorney.

Speaking to a room of expert number crunchers, Ogg unloaded alarming figures.

22,606 alleged crimes were committed by offenders released on bond by reform judges in 2021. At least 14,000 additional offenses are projected this year, all likely perpetrated by those who made bail.

“This far left concept of just not performing our duty, I don’t think serves the public correctly. Crime is not partisan, and it shouldn’t be dealt with by the extremes on either side, like it is,” said Ogg.

Then there is the issue of the Harris County Jail, packed with more than 8,800 defendants awaiting trial, most of them for violent offenses.

Ogg’s 350 exhausted prosecutors buried beneath a backlog of 130,000 criminal cases.

“You have got to maintain public safety, and right now we are struggling. Houston is in crisis,” said Ogg.

With many in his crime weary congregation fearful of even going to the grocery store, Pastor Willie Davis was among the earliest to raise the alarm. His assessment of local leadership in the years since is scathing.

“People are afraid. This is reality out here. Those people who are in office now are doing nothing. The county is doing nothing. The city is doing nothing. It’s just smoke and mirrors,” said Davis who pastors at the Palm Church.

Ogg says given the current backlog the families of murder victims will be forced to wait years for the case against an accused killer to come up for trial.

“The heartbreak has to end for crime victims. It is horrible enough to think about losing a loved one. It is insult to injury to be told it will take four years to try a case,” said Ogg.

HOUSTON – 33-year-old Antjuan Dixon has six prior convictions, two for aggravated robbery.

“He actually gets 12 years in the penitentiary in 2008,” said Andy Kahan with Houston Crime Stoppers.

Dixon was released from prison in 2020. Little more than a year later, police say he returned to a life of crime.

“He’s charged with not one, not two, but three more aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon and that means a firearm,” Kahan said.

Court documents show the DA’s office wanted Dixon’s bond set at $500,000.

“Which makes sense based on his criminal history, he’s obviously a known threat,” said Kahan.

Harris County 182nd Criminal District Court Judge Danny Lacayo ignored the DA’s request for the bond. He lowered it to just $5,000.

“All he had to do was cough up $500 for three counts of aggravated robbery, which he easily did,” Kahan said.

“So you let someone out for $500, where are they going to get the money to pay for their bond? They’ve already demonstrated their profession is I’m an armed robber,” said State Senator John Whitmire.

“I don’t know how you justify that,” said Kahan. “It simply defies logic and I’d love for someone to tell me why they thought this was in the best interest of public safety.”

“We’re seeing repeat armed robbers being released on cash bonds, we’re seeing, charged like carrying a gun when you’re a felon, which is very serious law violation. They are being released without looking at the risk assessment,” Whitmire said.

We’re noticing a disturbing trend with some criminal district court judges when it comes to granting small bond amounts for defendants charged with felon in possession of a weapon.

“The stakeholders and some of the judges get very upset with your program and Andy, but I think putting a face on it, identifying the problem, is the first step to solving the problem,” Whitmire said.

Already under fire after her court reporter filed a complaint against her this week and abruptly quit, County Court-at-Law No. 2 Judge Grace M. Uzomba has been stripped of her court cases by an administrative judge.

A memo by Judge John Longoria, dated Thursday and addressed to all 15 county courts-at-law judges, alleged a “serious and egregious lack of attention” by Uzomba regarding pretrial violation reports, probation matters, family violence cases and other misdemeanors.

The county courts handle misdemeanor cases. Uzomba lost a bid for reelection in the March 1 Democratic primary but her successorwon’t be elected until November, to take office Jan. 1.

In the memo, Longoria said more than 1,700 cases in her court are without current settings.

“As judges, we have an obligation to this community to ensure that justice is served, not only for the victims, but also for the defendants, who have a right to have their cases heard and to get their day in court,” he wrote.

Uzomba did not immediately return a text message and a call to her cellphone Thursday afternoon.

Reached via text on Thursday, Senior District Judge Sid Harle, who oversees a multi-county administrative judicial region and has been a jurist in Bexar County for more than three decades, said he had never seen this type of action taken against a judge here.

Invoking his authority as administrative judge, Longoria ordered 177 pending family violence cases on Uzomba’s docket be “immediately” distributed among county courts-at-law Nos. 7, 8, 11 and 13; and sent the approximately 1,656 cases he says are without current settings to courts-at-law Nos. 1, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11,12, 14, and 15, amounting to about 166 cases per court.

He also ordered that Uzomba’s court be removed from the arraignment rotation for the criminal courts “as soon as possible.” He added that any outstanding civil matters requiring signature that were sent to her court would be distributed to county courts-at-law Nos. 3 and 10, equally.

Longoria declined to provide a copy of the memo, which the Express-News obtained from a courthouse source.

It came days after Uzomba’s court reporter filed a complaint with courthouse security, alleging that the judge prevented the employee from leaving an office while she scolded her.

On Monday, court reporter Veronica Velez filed a complaint with a Bexar County sheriff’s deputy accusing Uzomba of cornering Velez in her office, blocking the entrance and belittling her because Velez had resigned effective immediately to take another job.

The officer’s report called it a verbal disagreement. Uzomba on Tuesday said that “no sort of altercation occurred.”

Courthouse sources have long said Uzomba was hard to work with and has had three or four court coordinators and about as many court reporters. A retired U.S. Army major, she was elected in 2018.

Court coordinators and court reporters work directly for the judges. Most stay until they or the judge retires, or the judge is voted out of office.

When asked Tuesday about the rumors of staffing issues, Uzomba spoke about her work ethic: “I stay late, I come in early.”

“As far as staff, staff has come and gone,” she said. “They come and go and seek what is in their best interest, or they may not be performing. If they aren’t meeting expectations, that is an issue as well.”

In February 2020, Uzomba clashed with Bexar County Clerk Lucy Adame-Clark, who pulled her deputy clerks and all of the case files from the court and alleged that Uzomba was mistreating the employees and not handling files correctly.

The issue was resolved days later, Longoria said at the time.

Reached Thursday, Longoria said his action removing Uzomba’s court cases was “separate and apart” from the complaint filed earlier this week by her court reporter.

“This is a caseload issue,” he said, adding that his decision to remove the cases from Uzomba came “with significant support from all judges.”

ezavala@express-news.net | Twitter: @elizabeth2863

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas – Raymond Young and Delvin Clemons have a lot in common. Both men are 44 and have many mugshots.

“Both of them have lengthy criminal histories, both have been convicted of violent offenses,” said Andy Kahan with Crime Stoppers.

Clemons has 17 felony convictions.

In October 2021, 232nd Criminal District Court Judge Josh Hill granted him bond for felon in possession of a weapon.

“A month later, he gets charged again for felon in possession of a weapon,” Kahan said. “You would have thought that would have been the end of the story, he gets out on bond again.”

Last month, police said Clemons shot and killed Keishan Betts at an apartment complex at 270 El Dorado Blvd.

There was a time when judges were hesitant to grant bond to defendants charged with felon in possession of a weapon.

“That’s absolutely true,” said Ray Hunt, Executive Director of the Houston Police Union. “I talked to the District Attorney in Montgomery County. He says he remembers one time when something like that happened.”

But some Harris County Criminal Court Judges grant bond all the time for defendants charged with felon in possession of a weapon.

“Very low bonds, where it’s only going to take maybe $1,000 to get out,” said Kahan.

Raymond Young, a convicted sex offender has a dozen convictions, including felon in possession of a weapon.

On May 7, 180th Criminal District Court Judge Desean Jones granted him a $10,000 bond for assault of a family member.

14 days later, police say Young shot and killed 17-year-old John Smith at 1329 East 35th Street.

“When you’ve got people who are felons in possession of a firearm out on multiple bonds, getting arrested again, that person should get a no bond or at least a million dollar bond,” Hunt said.

It’s been more than four months since Tarrant County got a new court to help handle criminal cases, but it’s unclear when a full time judge will take over the bench. The Legislature created a number of new courts in Texas in 2021, including the 485th District Court, a felony court focused on criminal cases that was established on Jan. 1. Because it was established after the filing period for the November election, the Tarrant County Republican and Democratic parties can select a nominee for the November ballot, but that can’t happen until members of the parties’ new executive committee begin their terms this summer, according to the Secretary of State’s Office. In the meantime, Gov. Greg Abbott can appoint someone to fill the bench to serve until a new judge is elected, however Abbott hasn’t made his pick.

The Tarrant County Republican Party has recommended for appointment Andy Porter, an associate judge in Tarrant County who is running for the county’s Criminal District Court No. 4, said Rick Barnes, the party’s chairman. He anticipates a selection won’t be made until after July 1, when the party’s new leadership steps in. The governor’s office did not return requests for comment about the process and timeline for an appointment.

Judge George Gallagher, who serves as the administrative judge as well as judge of the 396th District Court, said the court is up and running. Commissioners in February 2021 approved a resolution to support the creation of the court by the Legislature to help reduce backlogs. Commissioners were asked to support two new courts. “We had gotten to the point where we couldn’t keep up and then when COVID hit, it was really bad,” Gallagher said. Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley isn’t ruling out asking for another court when legislators again convene in January. “We’ll just have to see how things are as they go through the process,” Whitley said. Prosecutors have been assigned to the court. Gallagher said a magistrate judge, himself or a visiting judge have overseen cases as they move through the court.

“The court’s running very smoothly even though we don’t have a judge,” Gallagher said. County records show there are 2,184 cases pending in the court and 757 cases have been disposed as of Monday. There are 21,331 cases pending in the county’s 11 felony criminal courts, including the 485th District Court. As of Monday 8,383 cases have been filed in the courts and 8,491 disposed this year. The District Attorney’s Office, which handles the prosecution of criminal cases in the county, declined to comment. Representatives from the Tarrant County Bar Association and the Tarrant County Criminal Defense Lawyers Association did not return requests for comment. It’s unclear when or if Abbott will appoint someone to fill the bench. Barnes said the governor’s office didn’t decline to accept their choice — Porter — but “chose not to make the decision at that point in time.” Barnes thinks Porter being on the ballot for another court factored into the decision to hold off on an appointment. He expects the party to hold another meeting after July 1 with the new leadership, including precinct chairs, to reconfirm their recommendation or determine next steps.

“The governor may say since he’s already is on the ballot for the November election, he would like for us to look at somebody different,” Barnes said. “I just don’t know what he’s going to say. We’re going to have to have that conversation with the governor’s office — how he wants us to move forward after July 1.” E-mails and calls to Porter’s campaign were not returned. Porter, an associate judge for the 323rd District Court, which hears child welfare and juvenile delinquency cases, is running against Democrat Sam Williams, a former Arlington police officer who works in the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office. Allison Campolo, chair of the Tarrant County Democratic Party, said the local party does not believe it is in a position to recommend anyone to Abbott for appointment because the Republican governor “does not take recommendations from the Democratic Party.” “We expect this eventual appointee will be their November nominee and when we have confirmation from the Secretary of State and/or Elections Administration, we’ll select a nominee of our own,” Campolo said.

The bill that established the 485th District Court and others in the state also stipulated that County Criminal Court No. 6 will give preference to family violence cases starting in January 2023.

Judge Chika Anyiam, of Criminal District Court 7, recused herself Monday from 10 felony cases against Julio Guerrero.

A Dallas County judge who faced public scrutiny for lowering a murder suspect’s bail — and later raised the man’s bail amounts — has recused herself from the cases against him.

Judge Chika Anyiam, of Criminal District Court 7, recused herself Monday from 10 felony cases against Julio Guerrero, 29. The cases were moved to Judge Amber Givens’ 282nd District Court.

Anyiam signed the recusal Monday, several days after District Attorney John Creuzot filed a 45-page motion asking that she remove herself from the cases.

Creuzot argued that Anyiam’s impartiality could reasonably be questioned after she lowered Guerrero’s bail amounts considerably while his defense lawyer is one of her top campaign contributors, and then raised his bail after media reports about her rulings.

Anyiam did not immediately respond to a request for comment. She did not provide any explanation for her decision in the recusal document.

Guerrero was arrested in June after a standoff with police in east Oak Cliff. He was wanted in the slaying of a 35-year-old man in May and a shooting a week later at a gas station that critically injured a 3-year-old girl.

In addition to the murder charge, Guerrero faces four counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, three counts of aggravated assault against a public servant and two drug charges.

Anyiam lowered Guerrero’s total bail from $2 million to $510,000 last month after his attorney said he couldn’t afford it, but later raised bail on the murder charge from $100,000 to $600,000.

Anyiam later raised Guerrero’s bail on the assault charges, making his total bail $1.96 million — roughly the same amount he initially faced.

When Anyiam lowered Guerrero’s bail, she was criticized by local and state officials and police associations.

Gov. Greg Abbott called the move “outrageous,” while Dallas police Chief Eddie García said it was “a slap in the face” to police and victims.

Tom Cox, Guerrero’s attorney, said in a court filing that the judge’s decision to raise the bail appeared to be in response to media attention.

Campaign finance reports show Cox donated $5,000 to Anyiam’s most recent campaign. His contribution was the largest she received in that period, Creuzot wrote in his motion.

A pair of Harris County civil court judges have been sanctioned for behavior in their courtrooms, with one judge allowing the shackling of attorneys and another erupting into fits of rage during a trial.

The reprimand applies to Judge Barbara Stalder in the 280th Family Protective Order Court for holding an attorney in contempt during a February 2020 hearing and then ordering the bailiff to shackle him to a chair in the jury box, according to State Commission on Judicial Conduct documents. A week later, the judge did the same with another attorney.

The commission also ordered that Judge Clinton “Chip” Wells in the 312th Family District Court be admonished and undergo two hours of education on how to appropriately conduct himself for courtroom outbursts of anger aimed at lawyer Teresa Waldrop during an April 2019 divorce trial.

Stalder could not be reached Friday as the commission’s ruling from April 20 was made public. Wells acknowledged that his actions were wrong.

“I made a mistake and I’m not hiding from that,” said Wells, who is facing Waldrop in the Democratic runoff election. “My behavior was not acceptable.”

The incident involving Stalder, who in March lost her primary bid, began when she threatened to hold lawyer Derrick Saulsberry in contempt for not answering questions about a profanity-laced conversation that he had with the mother-in-law of his client outside the courtroom. The judge ordered that he apologize in open court and he refused. Stalder told the bailiff to “take Mr. Saulsberry into custody,” the commission wrote.

The bailiff handcuffed Saulsberry to a chair, in full view of the courtroom — including his client. Judge Stalder continued the hearing and Saulsberry remained shackled for about 20 minutes. In a written response to the commission, Stalder confirmed that she told her bailiff to escort Saulsberry to the jury box. But she “did not(?) deny that she ever asked him to take Mr. Saulsberry into custody or that Mr. Saulsberry in fact was shackled at any time.”

The commissioners report includes the question mark in parenthesis in their statement.

While investigating Saulsberry’s claim, the commission learned that lawyer Samuel Milledge was similarly shackled a week later in Stalder’s courtroom for words exchanged with a court employee. The judge lectured Milledge about his behavior and “then read Milledge his rights and had her bailiff escort him to the jury box.”

“After Milledge was shackled in the jury box, Judge Stalder stated to him he would sit there and that she would address a contempt hearing on the matter after the remainder of her morning docket,” the commission continued. A contempt hearing never happened.

Milledge was let go only after calling his son, Samuel Milledge II, also a lawyer, to represent him. The younger Milledge exchanged words with the bailiff, told the judge that his father had a trial to attend and continued to verbally clash with the bailiff.

“Judge Stalder called (Milledge’s son) back to the bench and told him to never step foot in her courtroom again,” the commission wrote, adding that the judge later apologized to the father and son in her chambers.

Milledge, his son, and Saulsberry did not return requests for comment.

Stalder addressed the Milledge incident, telling the commission that “she understood how her reference to setting the matter for contempt and reading Mr. Milledge his rights could reasonably lead a person to believe he was, or was about to be, in custody,” the agency wrote. Stalder stated that she did not know that Milledge had been shackled.

The commission went on to say that Stalder’s behavior casts “public discredit upon the judiciary or the administration of justice.”

Stalder, a Democrat, was elected in 2018.

Public sanctions range from admonitions, warnings and reprimands, the latter of which representing one of the most severe punishment. When sanctioned, the offending judge and complainant are provided a copy of the order, which is then distributed to ensure public awareness, according to the commission’s website.

nicole.hensley@chron.com

• Fifteen judges resolved fewer felony cases during the pandemic and all 23 courts have more pending cases now than when the pandemic began.

• Harris County Judge Ramona Franklin, of the 338th Criminal District Court, who has the most pending cases of all 23 judges, is holding court via zoom. She’s set to resume in-person on Monday, May 2.

• There’s nothing in place that can force a judge in Texas to work faster or speed up their docket.

Angie Gooden won’t drive past the Scott Food Store.

She takes the long way around and when she passes by an intersection near Scott Street, she thinks about her son and whispers, “I love you. Good morning my guardian angel.”

For two years, Gooden has avoided the area where her son Reginald “Duke” Larry was shot in the head and hospitalized on Feb. 9, 2020.

“I saw him on the machine and it just – my heart just melted. I prayed, we prayed, prayed, prayed, prayed. I even saw signs of movement and they did tests for two days. Still, you know, no brain activity,” she said.

Gooden said she’ll never forget the day before Duke was shot. She spent all day with her son, talking about the burdens of life and telling him “I love you” for the last time.

It was that conversation that helped guide her on what to do next.

“That’s when I got the feeling in my heart, you know, he wouldn’t have wanted to be like this. I got with his siblings and asked them, ‘how y’all feel about me donating his organs? (They said), ‘Mom, if you want to do it, we’re okay with it,'” Gooden said. “And the thing about it, I’m proud. He did save four males with his organs, but it was a hurting feeling to let my child go like that. But I didn’t want to see him suffering on the machine and he wasn’t here, so it gave me the okay to let him go.”

Gerald Dewayne Washington, the man accused of shooting Duke outside a convenience store in 2020, was already out on bond for another alleged murder in 2017, where two other people were also injured.

Three and a half years after Washington’s first alleged murder, his charges are still pending in Harris County Criminal District Judge Ramona Franklin’s court.

The cases are part of a growing backlog across the county that has doubled in recent years. Our investigation found some judges are moving cases through the courts system much slower than others and none can keep up with the pace of incoming felonies.

13 Investigates analyzed every case filed in Harris County over the last decade and found Franklin, of the 338th Criminal District Court, has at least two times as many pending cases now than when the pandemic began.

As of last month, Franklin has 3,395 pending felony cases in her court, according to county data. That’s 1,000 more pending cases than the average of 2,186 cases for all 23 criminal district courts.

Our investigation also found Franklin has moved the fewest felony cases off her docket in the last two years, meaning fewer alleged criminals sentenced or cleared of their charges, and fewer victims with closure, leaving families like the Goodens waiting years for a verdict.

“Some of these people need to be put into a system that assures they’re not going to be a danger to society, whether that system is the probation system, the prison system, the jail system or something and if the court isn’t functioning, that isn’t happening,” said Paul Looney, who has been practicing criminal law in Harris County for 30 years. “It’s a threat to public safety because we don’t have fast, swift and sureness in our justice system and that’s the only thing that keeps the rest of us respecting the system.”

Each of Harris County’s 23 criminal district courts in Harris County have an elected judge who randomly gets assigned cases. There’s nothing in place that can force judges in Texas to work faster or speed up their docket.

The 482nd district court was formed during the pandemic to help address the backlog and heard its first cases last year. For our investigation, we focused on the 22 criminal courts for felonies that existed before the pandemic began to compare progress.

Our analysis found those 22 courts resolved an average of 2,873 cases during the pandemic. Franklin is at the bottom of that group, resolving just 1,953 cases between March 20, 2020, when the pandemic shut down courts, and Feb. 9, 2022.

Our investigation found 15 judges resolved fewer cases during the pandemic and all 23 courts have more pending cases now than when the pandemic began.

Overall, there’s 48,100 pending felony cases – 20,000 more than when the pandemic began.

Our investigation did find some judges are doing a better job of keeping up with the pace of incoming felonies than others.

Judge Abigail Anastasio, of Harris County’s 184th Criminal District Court, moved 3,537 felony cases off her docket during the pandemic, which is the highest among all judges.

She also has among the lowest number of pending cases in her court with just 1,430 active cases as of March.

Anastasio, who has worked as a prosecutor and defense attorney, told 13 Investigates that judges have to manage their time and resources effectively to “increase both the accused’s access to justice and to keep the community’s safety in mind.”

“I’m looking at the number of cases but also clearance rates. How many cases are coming in and going out,” she said. “Filings (new cases) have increased dramatically. I have to clear more cases to keep it even. My clearance rate has to be more than 100%. One way to do that is to tell defendants, ‘you’re going to trial.'”

Anastasio, whose term ends next year after losing re-election, said her goal is to get cases resolved in four settings or less, in part, by making sure attorneys explain any delays.

She said she’s been working from the courthouse throughout the entire pandemic, has few appearances via Zoom and doesn’t offer resets of cases unless an attorney is present to speak with her at the bench.

“We’re establishing a culture of accountability and expectations,” Anastasio said.

In Franklin’s court, the case against Duke’s accused killer has been reset four times.

In the two years since he died, his family said they haven’t been to the courthouse for any court proceedings because there has been no progress in the case.

“I don’t have words for it. Just pick up and do your job like you’re supposed to,” Gooden said. “Handle these cases the way you’re supposed to handle them.”

‘Worst possible outcome’

Wearing a black robe and a pearl-beaded collar, Judge Franklin logs into a Zoom video conference call. Her background is set to a customized image of a U.S. flag to her right and a Texas flag to her left to mimic a courtroom, but she’s not actually in her courtroom.

It’s a contrast from other courtrooms across the criminal justice center, where prosecutors, defendants and their attorneys face a judge in person to address felony charges.

Her county website says she’s resuming court in person on Monday, May 2.

Franklin, who was first elected to her current position in 2018, didn’t respond to 13 Investigates’ request for an interview.

The slow progress in Franklin’s courtroom prompted the Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association and the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association to file a complaint against her with the State Commission on Judicial Conduct, claiming she has illegally denied defendants’ bail and is delaying cases.

Looney said he’s also concerned about attorneys not being present during critical court proceedings in Franklin’s court. In one case, he said his law partners went in for an initial appearance, but Franklin insisted the defendant go into the courtroom alone and that the lawyer be at another location on Zoom despite both of them being at the courthouse.

A decision on the complaint is still pending.

It was filed 20 months ago and mentions one case where an attorney said he witnessed Franklin call a defendant before her “without an attorney and then revoke his bond, set his bail at ‘no bond’ and order that he be taken into custody.”

Looney tried to get Franklin removed from his client’s cases, too, but it didn’t work. An administrative judge said Franklin was treating everyone that way.

“Everybody is entitled to due process under the law. If you get into this lady’s court, you have no process and no law,” Looney said.

He said he doesn’t want his client’s case thrown out. He just wanted a “functioning court” to get the case moving along, but he hasn’t been able to get a trial set in Franklin’s court, let alone an initial appearance.

“She will not come to work. She will not let the court function and she will not take a leave of absence and she won’t resign from the bench. This is the worst possible outcome for an elected judge,” Looney said. “When we have a crisis, the people at the top either need to be leaders or they need to get out of the way and let somebody else be a leader.”

County records show Franklin has the lowest clearance rate of any judges over the last year. She also has the most defendants in jail awaiting trial than any other judge.

More than half of the pending cases in her court are at least a year old. That means victims, like the Goodens, whose son was killed in 2020, are left waiting years for a resolution.

“I can’t explain it. It’s unbelievable,” Gooden said. “I never had to do anything like this and I don’t know, I’m just not ready, but I kind of want to see justice served to where he won’t get out and do it to no one else.”

Gooden said she still remembers the last time the case against Washington, her son’s accused killer, was rescheduled for the fourth time. It was her son’s birthday.

“I couldn’t believe it, but then after that, nothing,” she said. “I celebrated my son’s birthday, but for the man in court, nothing.”

The first murder case filed against Washington in 2018 has been reset more than a dozen times.

13 Investigates asked Washington’s attorney, Danny Easterling, why neither of his murder cases have been resolved.

“There is a delay in the entire system,” he said, later adding. “I’m not going to comment on that. It is what.”

The Goodens said their only interaction with the justice system has been for traffic tickets. They’ve never been to the courthouse for a criminal case and they’ve only seen Washington in mugshots on TV.

They’re ready for justice. They want to see Washington in person. They want to know if he feels any remorse at all.

“I just want to see the person that scared my son,” said Greg Gooden, Duke’s dad. “Just look at him.”

Waiting for justice

Angie Gooden has seen story after story on TV about people getting murdered in Houston, including people like her son’s alleged killer, who are accused of murder while out on bond for other alleged felonies.

Each time, she said she could feel the family’s pain. At least, she thought she could.

Then, it happened to her.

She was sitting outside listening to music when her brother drove down Scott Street and recognized her son’s car.

“Where’s Duke,” she recalled him asking her. “He said, ‘it looks like his car’s taped off.'”

Gooden was confused and told her brother she’d call him back.

“I have this thing where I call my children and when they answer and say, ‘hello,’ I say, ‘Okay, that’s all I wanted to hear,'” Gooden said.

But Duke didn’t answer. She tried calling him again. By then her brother had already confirmed it was Duke’s car.

Gooden rushed to the scene, just around the corner from her house.

“I was just asking everyone, is he all right? Is he alive? The police just said, ‘ma’am, we can’t tell you nothing,'” she said.

Her son was rushed to a local hospital.

More than two years have passed since Gooden made the difficult decision to allow the hospital to take Duke off life support.

She doesn’t know much longer she’ll have to wait for his accused killer to go to trial.

In Harris County, we found it takes an average of four years for homicide cases to be resolved, which means they’ll likely have to wait at least two more years for a verdict.

“I want to see justice served to where he won’t get out and do it to someone else,” Angie Gooden said. “You took something from me that I can never get back. (My son) will never have kids. He will never grow old.”

Washington’s case isn’t due in court again until June. This time, the Goodens hope Judge Franklin will put herself in their shoes and keep the case moving through what they call an “unfair system,” instead of continuing to delay it.

Until then, Gooden said she’ll continue waking up every morning, looking at a photo of Duke and saying the words her son will never say back to her again: “I love you.”