Testimony begins in Oakley trial
Judge Dib Waldrip on Aug. 30 allowed media members to snap a quick photo inside the district courtroom in Johnson City where suspended Burnet County Judge James Oakley is being tried on a Class B misdemeanor charge of misuse of county property. Staff photo by Suzanne Freeman
About one hour of testimony on Day 2 of the misdemeanor trial of suspended Burnet County Judge James Oakley was heard by everyone except the jurors, who were sent to lunch. The case continued in the 33rd Judicial District courtroom in Johnson City on Wednesday, Aug. 30.
Burnet County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Tom Dillard testified in the case of the State of Texas v. James Oakley about his surveillance of the defendant driving a white 2021 Chevy Silverado truck that belongs to the county to his job as District 5 director on the Pedernales Electric Cooperative board.
District Judge Dib Waldrip said he wanted to hear the testimony before the jury because it involved “inference” of wrong-doing rather than direct evidence. Part of Dillard’s testimony showed a “continuous course of conduct.” In other words, it introduced circumstantial evidence that Oakley used the county truck to travel to PEC meetings over the years and beyond the six times listed in the criminal charge for 2021 and 2022.
Capt. Dillard testified that, based on his analysis of subpoenaed information received from PEC, Oakley claimed reimbursement for mileage to and from PEC headquarters in Johnson City for two of 15 board meetings held in 2021. From that, Dillard inferred that Oakley only took his personal vehicle to the meetings those two times and that he used his county-issued truck for the other 13 meetings.
Based on a recording the jury heard during testimony from District Attorney’s Office Investigator Jack Schumacher, Oakley told Schumacher in a March 2 interview that he rarely drove the county vehicle to PEC meetings, adding that he did not remember using it anytime in the past eight years.
Oakley said he only used the county vehicle “in rare cases when I have a tight schedule.”
“I may have to leave a (PEC) meeting early for a county-related meeting,” he continued in the recording. “It’s 64 miles round trip from my front door to Johnson City.”
He also pointed out that he lives in Spicewood, “six miles down a dead-end road,” and that it’s not always convenient to go home and switch vehicles if he has Burnet County business before or after the monthly PEC board meetings.
Defense council John Carsey argued that Oakley misspoke and most likely meant eight months rather than eight years. In fact, he added, the last time Oakley used his truck to go to a PEC meeting was eight months before the interview took place.
Carsey also argued that the state could not meet its burden of proof for those inferred incidences without actual evidence, such as photos or videos showing Oakley had arrived to or left PEC meetings in the county truck. The state presented videos of Oakley parking the vehicle and walking into PEC headquarters on each of the six days listed in the charge, but not for the inferred times.
The jury was out for 2½ hours before Dillard was brought in to testify again. Judge Waldrip instructed District Attorney Wiley “Sonny” McAfee that Dillard needed to keep his testimony to generalities unless talking about trips from 2021-22.
Another witness heard on Wednesday was Burnet County Auditor Karin Smith, who testified the truck in question was purchased for about $37,000 in 2021. She also verified that on Jan. 6, 2018, Oakley signed a page from the county employee handbook outlining the proper uses of county property.
“Is personal use of a county vehicle permitted?” McAfee asked Smith.
“No, sir,” she replied.
Capt. Dillard was still testifying as the deadline for this article approached. Check back Aug. 31 for more on the trial, which began Aug. 29 with jury selection.