Attorney: Charges against sheriff “are baseless”

CANTON – An attorney for Van Zandt County Sheriff Steve Hendrix is defending his client after Hendrix and two others were indicted. According to our news partner KETK, Kenneth Biggs issued a statement that reads in part, “The Van Zandt County Sheriff has been and will continue to be fully cooperative with any state or federal investigators who seek to acquire information related to this alleged misconduct. We believe the charges brought in this indictment are baseless and the Sheriff looks forward to defending the allegations in court.” Hendrix (pictured) and two deputies were indicted Friday and charged with providing false statement to a peace officer.

Hendrix was charged along with Chief Deputy Jerry Wood and Sergeant Blake Snell after an investigation by the Texas Rangers. According to District Attorney Tonda Curry, her office received “Written evidence of an incident of excessive use of force against an inmate by a member of the Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Office.” Curry then requested an investigation by the Texas Rangers into the allegation. The Rangers’ investigation began in December, according to Curry. On Jan. 10, then-Chief Deputy Craig Shelton “admitted to the Ranger that he had struck a handcuffed individual in the face without justification.”

“Once the Rangers’ investigation was completed there was probable cause to believe that other officers at the Sheriff’s Department had witnessed the incident but were not truthful when interviewed by the Ranger,” Curry said. After that information came to light, Curry decided to bring in a Special Prosecutor, Bill Turner, to handle the investigation and any resulting case. The investigation culminated on March 25 when Turner presented information to a Van Zandt County grand jury. The grand jury returned indictments charging Hendrix, Wood, and Snell with false statement to a peace officer, which is a Class B misdemeanor.