Former constable sentenced

SMITH COUNTY — Our news partners at KETK report that a former Smith County Constable was sentenced to two years in jail on Tuesday after violating probation terms. Former Smith County Precinct 1 Constable Curtis Traylor-Harris was initially sentenced to five years of probation after being found guilty of theft while executing an eviction notice in December 2022. Traylor-Harris began his two-year sentence on Tuesday, after violating his probation.

Traylor-Harris was arrested for stealing property from a Tyler residence while on duty in 2021. He was executing a writ of possession of a rental property with two of his deputies, tasked by a court order to seize and take control of a property and turn it back to the landlord’s possession. Body camera footage captured Traylor-Harris stealing a wallet with money and handing a deputy a watch display case to put in her shirt pocket. The leasee of the rental property filed a theft report with Tyler police, and Traylor-Harris and the two deputies were charged with theft of property between $750 and $2,500, abuse of official capacity and official oppression.