Suspended Smith County Constable’s lawyer discusses $1 million bond

TYLER — Former Smith County Pct. 1 Constable Curtis Traylor-Harris has pleaded not guilty, and a trial date has been set for Sept. 19 on his theft of property by a public servant and official oppression cases. According to our news partner KETK, Traylor-Harris’s attorney, Andrew Dammann, said usually his clients are given some leniency by the courts, but this time he says they aren’t cutting Traylor-Harris any slack. “That’s what the bond system does to people. It puts them in jail, it separates them from their family and it breaks them to the point where they’re willing to accept a deal that might not be the best for them,” said Dammann. Dammann requested a bond reduction but was declined. The judge said the bond would remain at $1 million since it was raised due to a bond violation. Traylor-Harris and two deputies were accused of stealing from a Tyler residence in 2021, and since then the district attorney’s office has released bodycam footage from the incident. He was indicted in February.

The list of the things missing from the residence were an iPhone 8, Oakley sunglasses, jewelry, Chanel perfume, an iPhone X, Nike shoes, Airpods, two iPhone 12s, two MacBooks and more than $3,000 in cash. It was also mentioned that firearms were taken by the constable’s office but were later returned. The video footage of the event comes from Chief Deputy LaQuenda Banks’s bodycam during the January 2021 incident and was used as evidence in a lawsuit filed to remove Traylor-Harris from office. Banks is scheduled for a plea hearing in August and the second deputy is scheduled to appear for a jury trial in October.