Hicks under investigation for using city-issued devices for personal reasons The Galveston County District Attorney’s Office, at the request of the League City Police Department, is investigating a claim by Council Member Justin Hicks's estranged wife that he used his city-issued electronic devices for personal reasons amidst the couple’s marriage woes. Details of the allegations were not made public but were made when Deborah Hicks when she filed a pair of harassment claims against her husband earlier this week. Officials did confirm Deborah Hicks filed a formal criminal complaint against her husband that included the allegations of improper use of the city-issued devices. City policy and the law prohibit using taxpayer-funded items for personal or campaign purposes. Justin Hicks, in a phone interview on Thursday (2/27/2025), claims all allegations made by his wife are lies. “This is a nasty divorce,” Hicks said. “She is not herself right now, and you know, I mean, I think what she's trying to do is grasp at straws.” Hicks claimed he was also going to file his police complaint alleging his wife filed a false police report. It was unclear if that filing had been made as of Friday. Deborah Hicks, in her first interview since the scandal erupted around her husband, said she stands by her allegations and has proof of what she claims. The investigation is in its preliminary stages, and authorities have not confirmed the details. Still, the allegations were enough that given Hicks’ status as a council member, Police Chief Cliff Woitena asked the DA to investigate two related criminal complaints. The allegations are in addition to details Mrs. Hicks provided about a police call to the couple’s house in January. She outlined the details in an email to Police Chief Cliff Woitena sent last week. i45NOW obtained a heavily redacted version of the email via an open records request. The city’s attorney, at Justin Hicks’ urging, has sought to block even the most basic information about the incident. Deborah Hicks described erratic behavior by her husband in the early morning hours of Jan. 4. She wrote that her husband was enraged in a “multi-hour aggressive tirade,” in which he was brandishing a handgun. “At the time of the call, my two (younger daughters) were hiding in the older girl's closet fearing for my and their lives,” Deborah Hicks wrote in an email to Police Chief Cliff Woitena. “No matter how much I begged Mr. Hicks to just go to sleep to stop scaring the (kids), he would not be pacified and continued to behave dangerously erratic.” When police arrived, Hicks calmed down and “became extremely amicable and even friendly with them,” Deborah Hicks said. She went on to say she was fearful for herself and her children and claimed to have told the responding officers. Police, however determined no charges would be filed. “This is unfortunately (was) not the first incident of a multi-hour aggressive tirade from Mr. Hicks. However, this was the first time he pulled the gun, and the situation has become exponentially worse. “Hicks is erratic and very concerning, and I would like to know what are my rights to protect myself and my (children),” she wrote in the email to the police chief. In her email Deborah Hicks, who’s been married to Justin for almost 20 years, said she had also reached out to City Manager John Baumgartner and Mayor Pro Tem Tommy Cones. Cones, a Hicks ally who campaigned with and for Hicks in the November election, did not respond to multiple questions asking about Hicks’ situation. Cones and Hicks teamed up to lambast Council member Chad Tressler in December about an early morning council meeting about a fireworks ordinance. They also co-sponsored an ordinance this week to rename Bay Colony Park in honor of former Mayor Pat Haiilsey. Baumgartner could not be reached for comment on Friday.

Posted by i45NOW TJ Aulds at 2025-03-01 03:46:30 UTC