Smith County Commissioner Charged with Injury to an Elderly Person

TYLER – Smith County Commissioner JoAnn Hampton is free on bond. She turned herself in at the Smith County Jail late Monday morning after being named in an arrest warrant. Hampton has been charged with injury to an elderly person and her bond was set at $10,000. On Sunday, April 2, the sheriff’s department received a call of a possible assault at the Spring Creek Baptist Church on County Road 46. A woman told deputies she had been inside the Pastor’s office with the door closed discussing an issue with the Pastor when Hampton entered and started shouting at her. She said Hampton pushed her, causing her to fall and to injure her wrist. The woman was treated at a hospital emergency room for her injuries, then released. The arrest warrant for Hampton was issued last Friday. We have left a phone message for the commissioner and have emailed her regarding any response to the charges.