Rep. Ron Reynolds
State Rep. Ron Reynolds, D-Missouri City, was arrested Tuesday evening [for barratry, the unlawful solicitation of clients by lawyers] and posted $5,000 bail shortly after midnight. A former associate municipal judge for the City of Houston, Reynolds, 38, is a managing partner in the Bellaire law firm of Brown, Brown & Reynolds, as well as an adjunct professor at Texas Southern University.
“While the facts of the case have yet to be disclosed to me, it is my intent to fully cooperate with the prosecutors who are pursuing the charges,” he said in a statement.
Harris County prosecutors say that Marcela Halmagean filed the complaint against Reynolds, alleging that he used a representative to solicit her as a prospective client after she was involved in a motor vehicle accident in Harris County. Halmagean is a Houston lawyer whose firm practices business, commercial and family law.
Texas law prohibits soliciting a client for legal services. Barratry is a third-degree felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.
Here’s his full statement via his Facebook page, in which he says “it appears that the charges filed against me are politicized” and that he maintains his innocence and will “vigorously” defend himself. All I can say is I hope he’s right. Until then, I expect he’ll have some explaining to do to constituents.
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