Former Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst arrested on domestic violence charge, Dallas police say

Dewhurst has since been released from jail

FILE - Then-Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst in the Senate at the Texas State capitol on July 1, 2013 in Austin, Texas. On April 13, 2021, Dewhurst was arrested on a charge of domestic violence in Dallas, according to police. (Photo by Erich Schlegel/Getty Images) (Erich Schlegel, 2013 Getty Images)

Former Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst has been arrested on a charge of domestic violence in Dallas, according to police.

Dallas police responded to a disturbance call just after 5 p.m. Tuesday in the 3300 block of West Mockingbird Lane, not far from Dallas Love Field Airport.

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A woman at the scene told officers that she was assaulted by a man she knew, police said in a news release.

Dewhurst, 75, was identified as the suspect “during the course of the investigation,” police said. No details about the incident were immediately available.

It is also unclear if the woman, whose age has not been released, suffered serious injuries.

Dewhurst was taken into custody and charged with assault family violence, a Class A misdemeanor.

According to NBC DFW, he was booked into the Dallas County Jail at 12:19 a.m. He was released after posting bail, the TV station reported. His bond was set at $1,000.

DPD said its Public Integrity Unit will be conducting an investigation.

Dewhurst was lieutenant governor of Texas from 2003-2015, and before that served as the state’s land commissioner. He ran for U.S. Senate in 2012 but lost to Ted Cruz. In 2014, he lost his reelection as lieutenant governor to Dan Patrick in the Republican primary runoff.

Last year, his girlfriend Leslie Ann Caron allegedly attacked him twice at their residence in the River Oaks subdivision of Houston. One assault left him with fractured ribs, but he did not file any charges, according to media reports.

A grand jury did not indict her in connection with one incident, according to KPRC, KSAT’s sister station in Houston. In a second case, charges were dropped last week.

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About the Author:

Rebecca Salinas is an award-winning digital journalist who joined KSAT in 2019. She reports on a variety of topics for KSAT 12 News.