January 12, 2008
DA investigating incident involving Borris Miles

Lovely.


The Harris County District Attorney's Office is investigating a complaint that state Rep. Borris Miles, D-Houston, made threats and brandished a gun at a holiday party last month.

According to witnesses, Miles entered a St. Regis Hotel ballroom uninvited, confronting guests, displaying a pistol and forcibly kissing another man's wife.

David Harris, who threw the party for his property management company, said he believes Miles, an insurance agent, was angry at him for investing in a rival business.

"He was saying things such as, 'I told you to get out of the insurance business. There ain't room in this town for the two of us. I'm going to come after you and take you down,' " Harris said.

The District Attorney's Office received a written complaint about the incident and is investigating, but officials declined to comment further.

Messages left at Miles' government and insurance offices were not returned Friday.

Rumors about the incident have swirled for weeks in both Houston and Austin. Harris agreed to speak publicly about it last month only after being contacted by the Houston Chronicle. It was not until Friday, however, that the District Attorney's Office confirmed the investigation.


Well, whatever else you may say about this, the timing is certainly fortuitous for the District Attorney's office. Nothing distracts from a scandal like another scandal.

According to witnesses to the December incident, Miles walked into the ballroom carrying a wine bottle and a glass.

During their confrontation, Harris said Miles proclaimed himself a "gangster" and "thug," before kissing Harris on both cheeks and then the mouth. Miles then pulled out a gun and placed it in Harris' hand, witnesses said.

"He was acting as if there was some sort of symbolic power struggle, grabbing him by the face," said Nathaniel Rido, who attended the party.

Rido said Miles also kissed his wife, Krysynthia, before leaving, an act that still angers him.

"A public official, acting like that -- I was disturbed," he said.

Miles also said at the party that he would "take down" U.S. Congressman Al Green, former local NAACP leader Howard Jefferson and Ben Hall, the city attorney under Mayor Bob Lanier. Hall is representing Harris.

''He disrespected me, he disrespected my guests," Harris said. "This is totally unacceptable."


If the allegations are true, then it is unacceptable. I certainly hope they're not true, and I hope Rep. Miles can clear his name. I respect the work he's done as State Representative, and I don't regret for a minute supporting him over the useless Craddick-enabling embarrassment Al Edwards (here's a reminder of Edwards' greatest hit from his last term in office), but if he's found guilty of doing what he's been accused of doing, then he needs to step down. Politically speaking, if it comes to that, the least damage would be caused if it happened after he won the primary. As that would leave no major party candidate running for HD146, then both the Democrats and the Republicans (if they care) could field someone new for November. This is similar to what happened when former State Rep. Vilma Luna decided to retire after the 2006 primaries. The lack of a Republican opponent distinguishes this from the DeLay situation that year - had the Rs fielded a candidate, the best the Dems could do in the event of a Miles resignation would be a write-in. But since the slot can't be left blank (and no, a Libertarian doesn't count, at least according to state law), both sides would get a do-over.

The best outcome, of course, is for the DA to conclude that there's no merit to the charges, and Miles goes on to finish off Edwards' career once and for all. That's what I'm hoping for. We'll see what happens.

UPDATE: Greg has the official statement from Miles.


Rep. Borris L Miles disagrees with the reported accounts of this alleged event. We are unaware of any investigation by the Harris County District Attorney's Office.

At the request of counsel, there will be no further comments on this matter. In the meantime and in light of this being a new year, Rep Miles continues to handle the business of his district which remains his utmost priority.

Cornel A. Williams
Attorney for Representative Miles


We'll see what happens next.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on January 12, 2008 to Local politics
Comments

I'm confident they'll get the job done since they know where the restrooms are. If not, they can always consult Siegler, although they better hurry because Siegler may have to re-learn this if she returns after her leave of absence. Just don't tell Ed "I can campaign using county resources but you can't" Emmett, who is thinking of accusing Siegler for mentioning the county potties in her campaign spiel.

Posted by: Charles Hixon on January 12, 2008 2:50 PM

as a memebr of his district i am totally ashamed and he will have n support comming from my family. u just dont do that to women. i know folks at those parties who told me that day of hs behavior and now its out. expect a fierce race.

Posted by: idontthinkso on January 12, 2008 3:28 PM

His bad behavior was bound to catch up with him sometime. That's why I supported Al Bennett in 2006. Al is a great guy and he is going to make an excellent judge.

Posted by: Marie on January 12, 2008 9:34 PM

I backed bennett too. a real shame-upright and decent. now we are in abd predicament. if he doesnt resign im afraid we will be in trouble. we need a change in 146. my bet is community will speak out calling for hsi resignation . or that is the buzz right now..

Posted by: idontthinkso on January 13, 2008 1:38 AM

Kuff, this is the SECOND TIME he has been accused of this sort of thing. On January 3rd, 2007 he walked into the lobby of a hotel, grabbed a hotel employee by the arm, groped her, and forcibly kissed her on the neck before she could push him off of her. It was caught on videotape. The tape was turned over to HPD and they took her statement as well but to date they have refused to file charges against him. They also refuse to return the tape so that she can seek a civil action against him.

Later on that night one of the room service employees told the woman he assaulted that when they delivered food to his room, there were two women, wearing no clothes, in his room with him. I'm not sure if this happened before or after his divorce. If before, it is possible it precipitated it.

Posted by: Rorschach on January 15, 2008 1:15 PM

Great article and good site, love the info....keep up the good work Thanks from www.republicpm.com

Posted by: Keith on January 18, 2008 6:26 PM