(Texas Scorecard) – A grand jury has handed down an indictment against Rains County Justice of the Peace Robert Jenkins Franklin after he allegedly threatened a defendant to accept a plea deal.
Last month, Texas Scorecard reported on a federal lawsuit that alleges Franklin told defendant Coby Wiebe “you take that deal boy or dead men can’t testify.” Wiebe accepted a plea deal three days later. The 8th District Court later dismissed the case in April after learning of Judge Franklin’s alleged death threats.
The indictment also alleges Judge Franklin coerced and pressured Jennifer Patterson—his chief clerk—into signing a false affidavit in February.
On May 27, a Rains County grand jury decided—in The State of Texas v. Robert Jenkins Franklin—that there was enough evidence against Franklin to return an indictment on two misdemeanor counts of official oppression and two felony counts of tampering with a witness.
Franklin was arrested and admitted the next day to the Van Zandt County Detention Center.
Judge Chris Martin of the 8th District Court in Rains County set Franklin’s bail at $25,000 with conditions of bond or pre-trial release. He posted the bond and was released the following morning.
Judge Martin’s bond conditions placed heavy restrictions on Franklin’s civil liberties while awaiting trial.
Franklin may not communicate with or be within 1,000 feet of the victims he threatened—Patterson and Wiebe. He is also prohibited from going within 500 feet of the Rains County Courthouse, where he still presides as Justice of the Peace.
The bond conditions also ordered him to avoid “places where alcoholic beverages are possessed, sold, or used on site.” He previously made headlines in March 2024 when he was arrested for driving while intoxicated.
Conditions also state Franklin “shall not possess a firearm at any time.” A Facebook post reportedly shows Franklin wielding an AR-15 in his judicial office at the Rains County Courthouse.
Texas law permits judges with handgun licenses to carry concealed handguns in courthouses, according to Texas Penal Code § 46.15(a)(7). However, this exception does not extend to rifles or other firearms without explicit court authorization.
Court dates will be set and announced by the Rains County District Court as the prosecution moves forward. In the related federal civil case brought by Coby Wiebe, a hearing is scheduled for June 30 at 11 a.m. in the Hunt County Courthouse in Greenville.
Judge Franklin, Coby Wiebe, and Jennifer Patterson did not respond to Texas Scorecard’s request for comment in time for publication.
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