Texas judge’s wife ‘did not feel safe’ going home with him day before his arrest, records show

Guadalupe County court-at-law judge facing charges after allegedly striking baby son with door

Bill Squires. Image Courtesy: Hays County Jail (KSAT)

The day before San Marcos police arrested a Guadalupe County court-at-law judge on child injury charges, Austin police were called to the airport to document a family disturbance involving him.

The Austin police report on Judge Bill Squires recently obtained by the KSAT 12 Defenders revealed new details about his behavior before he was taken into custody on July 8. Squires, who is accused of striking his baby son with the front door as he forced his way into a home, was arrested on suspicion of injury to a child and child endangerment.

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On July 7, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection employee at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport called police about a disturbance that occurred between Squires and his wife while the couple was vacationing in Mexico.

Squires’ wife told police that they constantly argued during their week-long getaway, according to the report. Squires spent the vacation “drinking and smoking marijuana” while being verbally abusive toward her, the wife said.

The judge allegedly threatened to take their son to the United States while leaving his wife behind, she told police.

On the morning of their flight home, Squires hid his wife’s plane ticket and keys from her before eventually giving them to her, she reported.

Squires denied the allegations and accused of his wife of lying, but he agreed to take a separate ride home from the airport, while his wife left with their child, according to the report.

Though his wife told police Squires had not gotten physical with her at any point during the vacation, she still wanted the disturbance documented, according to the report.

The next day, San Marcos police were called to a home in the 2200 block of Stonehaven for a disturbance.

Inside, the officers found Squires’ wife “clearly distressed and fearful,” while holding a 16-month-old baby whose eyes were red from crying, the affidavit states.

The woman told officers Squires had shown up at the home earlier in the night, banging on the front door of the residence and yelling to be let in. As the woman went to unlock the door while holding the baby, Squires forced the door to fly open, striking the child on the head, the affidavit states. The baby showed no obvious signs of injury, police said.

Squires left the home before officers arrived, but they eventually found him during a traffic stop.

Squires denied that he forced the door open, telling police it “flew open” after his wife unlocked the door. While speaking with officers, they noted Squires’ “breath smelled heavily of alcohol.” He was unsteady on his feet and had several small bottles of liquor on him, according to his arrest affidavit.

Squires was arrested and then booked into the Hays County Jail, before being released on bonds totaling $6,000, records show.

In a July 13 Facebook post, Squires asked for “patience and privacy” while he addresses the charges and “the dissolution” of his marriage.

“I have a profound faith in the American Judicial system and remain confident that truth and justice will always prevail,” Squires wrote. “I humbly ask for your patience and privacy as my family goes through the difficult process of working through the dissolution of our marriage.”


About the Authors:

Emmy-award winning reporter Dillon Collier joined KSAT Investigates in September 2016. Dillon's investigative stories air weeknights on the Nightbeat and on the Six O'Clock News. Dillon is a two-time Houston Press Club Journalist of the Year and a Texas Associated Press Broadcasters Reporter of the Year.