SAN ANTONIO – Bexar County Court at Law Judge Rosie Speedlin Gonzalez was indicted Thursday, more than a year after investigators said she had an attorney handcuffed during a dispute in her courtroom.
Speedlin Gonzalez has been charged with unlawful restraint by a judicial officer, a felony, and misdemeanor official oppression, indictment records obtained by KSAT Investigates show.
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She turned herself in on Thursday and made her initial court appearance around 1 p.m.
Speedlin Gonzalez’s indictment comes two weeks after KSAT Investigates revealed a December 2024 incident in which the judge ordered a defense attorney in her courtroom to be placed in handcuffs and seated in the jury box.
The dispute between Speedlin Gonzalez and attorney Elizabeth Russell escalated during a motion to revoke probation hearing.
After the defendant pleaded “true” to one of the allegations, Russell cut in and asked for a moment to confer with her client, a transcript of the proceeding states.
The defendant functions below average intellectually, a source familiar with the incident told KSAT.
After the incident, Russell filed a criminal complaint against Speedlin Gonzalez, 60.
Thursday’s indictment accuses Speedlin Gonzalez of restricting Russell’s movements without her consent and interfering “substantially with her liberty.”
Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales recused his office from the case in September, court records show.
Brian Cromeens, district attorney for the 24th Judicial District, which includes DeWitt and Goliad counties, was assigned as special prosecutor on Oct. 1, 2025, records show.
Cromeens did not respond to a KSAT Investigates email seeking comment Thursday.
Speedlin Gonzalez, who did not respond to a text message seeking comment, first took office in County Court at Law 13 in January 2019 and also runs the county’s Reflejo Court for first time domestic violence offenders.
She is running for reelection in the March primary against Democratic challenger Alicia Perez.
In a separate incident in 2022, Speedlin Gonzalez paid a $2,475 civil penalty after a loaded handgun was found in her carry-on luggage at the San Antonio International Airport.
Speedlin Gonzalez was attempting to catch an early morning flight to Miami for a speaking engagement, when a handgun with a loaded magazine inserted in it and a bullet chambered was found by TSA agents, a San Antonio Police Department incident report stated.
Speedlin Gonzalez, who called the incident an oversight, was allowed to hand over the gun to a family member and then boarded a flight after being questioned by San Antonio police officers.
Read more reporting on the KSAT Investigates page.