An Upshur County justice of the peace resigned following an investigation into possible criminal activity, Upshur County District Attorney Billy Byrd said on Friday.
Precinct 1 Justice of the Peace Timothy Cariker submitted a resignation dated April 29 to County Judge Dean Fowler that will become effective on May 31, Byrd said.
Cariker is an attorney who has a private practice outside of his duties as justice of the peace.
An investigation assisted by the Texas Rangers showed that Cariker's "private practice was requiring more time than expected," Byrd said.
He said an issue was brought to his attention but would not disclose who the source of the complaint was.
Cariker had county personnel who worked in his justice of the peace office prepare legal letters and documents for his private practice while the employees were on county time during the past year, Byrd said.
Cariker agreed to resign and to repay an amount of money to the county for the cost.
Cariker will not face any charges, Byrd said. Byrd added that he would not disclose the amount of money being repaid until after Cariker's resignation is effective.
"It was an abuse of his official capacity," Byrd said.
"We are going to resolve the issue before us."
In his resignation letter Cariker said he was resigning because of a "personal matter that requires my attention to the point that I can no longer effectively perform my duties as Justice of the Peace."
Cariker formerly served as an assistant district attorney in the county.
He was elected justice of the peace for Precinct 1 in January 2007.
Commissioners will discuss and decide upon accepting Cariker's resignation at their meeting on Thursday. Following that the agenda says commissioners will discuss and act upon requesting the county auditor to perform an audit of Cariker's office.
Fowler said he anticipates the commissioners to request a full audit.
"I can assure you that the Commissioners Court will determine an amount, if anything, that Mr. Cariker may owe the county," Fowler said.
"We'll take appropriate steps to try to recover that."
Byrd did not comment on the commissioners agenda item to discuss an audit and said he wasn't "sure what that's about."
An executive session is also listed on the agenda to discuss personnel matters.
Commissioners are not required to appoint someone to the position, Fowler said.
"If we do appoint someone, it's only for a five month period," he said.
The JP position will be on the November ballot. Republican and Democratic nominees will be selected by the Precinct 1 executive committee of each party, Fowler said.
Each party must select a candidate and give that name to the county clerk by 5 p.m. on Aug. 26.
The candidate who wins will take office immediately on Nov. 5.
He or she will hold the office until December 2010 — the remainder of the unexpired term.
Cariker was not available for comment Friday afternoon.
