Judge Frank Aguilar, who presided over the 228th District Court, died Sunday, according to county officials. He was 66.
Other judges were notified about Aguilar’s death around 9 p.m. in an email from 55th District Court Judge Latosha Lewis Payne, local administrative judge over the courts. Payne, without elaborating in the email, described Aguilar’s death as unexpected and asked that others pray for his family and the criminal district judges who knew him.
Aguilar, a Democrat, was elected to the Harris County bench in 2018. His term would have ended in 2026.
Details about his death were not immediately available.
As the story notes, it had been a challenging year for Judge Aguilar; I won’t get into that at this time. His term runs through the end of 2026, and as per law Greg Abbott will name a replacement to fill out his term. My condolences to Judge Aguilar’s family and friends.
UPDATE: More information.
The two-term criminal judge died Sunday after attending a Texans football game as he crashed his white Jeep Rubicon into a utility pole in the 7500 block of State Highway 288 feeder road, according to a friend and a source inside the Houston Police Department.
Paramedics rushed him to a hospital, but he did not survive. A 57-year-old passenger suffered non-life threatening injuries. Detectives pledged to investigate the crash further.
Very sad. May he rest in peace.