Denton County Sheriff Will Travis learned Thursday afternoon that he has been cleared of two allegations of bribery by the grand jury convened by the District Attorney.
“There was never a doubt in my innocence in this accusation; I’m just disappointed that it took so long to get to the inevitable conclusion,” Travis said. “For over a year, I’ve had the thought of this false accusation at the forefront of my mind and believe me, it wears on you emotionally.”
The grand jury’s decision not to indict Travis followed testimony from witnesses and an investigation conducted by the Texas Rangers, which began during the spring of 2013.
Both allegations involved issues prior to Travis’ election as sheriff and stemmed from an affidavit filed by former Denton County Deputy Sheriff Kevin Bragg, who had a long-running civil lawsuit from 2009 against the department after he lost his job under former sheriff Benny Parkey. That lawsuit was recently dismissed.
The first bribery allegation centered around an e-mail from Travis to Bragg that stated a person with a pending lawsuit against the county could not be hired by the county.
The second bribery allegation centered on Bragg’s accusation that Travis had used the promise of a job in the Sheriff’s Office to his primary election opponent, if he’d drop-out of the race.
Both men denied the story. The primary election was held with both candidates on the ballot; Travis won and ran for sheriff unopposed. His former opponent, Jesse Flores, who was then a Lewisville police officer, was appointed Constable for Pct. 1 by the Denton County Commissioners, following the death of his predecessor, Jim Dotson.
“Our system of justice works, I am proof of that,” said Travis. “I still am disappointed that it went as far as it did and that the grand jury file is sealed. Now that this is over, I’m ready to get on with the good work we’ve been doing and I just love this job. I am ready to rock-and-roll even more.”
