Ex-Judge Says He Ordered Quitman Police Captain’s Arrest Over ‘Total Pile of Crap’ Affidavit

SHERMAN — The former state district judge for Wood County testified Monday that he ordered the 2017 arrest of Quitman’s police captain not as an act of retribution but because the officer lied in a sworn affidavit alleging a cozy relationship between the judge, the sheriff and the district attorney in the East Texas county.

“He made a false statement of fact during a criminal proceeding,” former judge Jeff Fletcher said, explaining his decision to issue an arrest warrant for Terry Bevill, a 19-year law enforcement veteran with a previously pristine record.