Monday was a whirlwind for Daryl Peters — Bell County’s newest justice of the peace.
The morning started at the Bell County Courthouse.
There, dozens of residents assembled in the second floor courtroom to watch Peters take his oath of office to be the Precinct 4, Place 1, justice of the peace. Bell County Judge David Blackburn administered the oath.
Then Peters, a Democrat, trekked back to Killeen to his office at the Bell County Annex so he could dig into his new responsibilities.
“It’s been a lot of work today. I came in running,” he said, adding he conducted his first marriage Monday. “It’s off and running — lots of things going on today.”
Peters, 56, replaces Claudia Brown — a Killeen Democrat who was removed from office on Feb. 15 after a jury trial. He will serve the two years remaining on Brown’s unexpired term.
The Commissioners Court last week unanimously appointed Peters, an Army veteran, to the seat.
“I think it is a great honor,” Peters said of likely being the first black man to serve as JP in the county.
As Bell County’s newest justice of the peace, Peters will serve as a judge who oversees small claims court, issues eviction notices, Class C misdemeanors, traffic violations and fine-only criminal cases. They make rulings on causes of death and can order autopsies. They set bonds for people accused of crimes — which was one of the reasons for Brown’s removal after she set a record $4 billion bond for a man accused of murder.
“It’s a learning process,” Peters said. “It’s a lot, but I can handle it.”
A support system is already forming for the newest county official. Two justices of the peace — Bill Cooke of Precinct 4, Place 2, and Cliff Coleman of Precinct 2 — attended Peters’ swearing-in ceremony.
“A lot of people have reached out to me. Several judges called me to congratulate me and reach out to me to tell me if I ever needed help to let them know,” Peters said.
Prior to his appointment, Peters was the chairman of the Killeen Planning and Zoning Commission.
Peters worked at Fort Hood for 15 years, and retired from the base’s directorate of human resources in 2015. Before moving to Bell County, he worked in the defense reutilization and marketing office at Biggs Army Airfield in El Paso from 1997 to 2000.
The JP seat will be on the ballot in 2020. The filing period for the spring 2020 primaries begins later this year. Peters is undecided on whether he will seek the seat next year.
“Let’s get through this process first,” he said on March 19. “One day at a time.”
Bell County Democratic Party chairman Chris Rosenberg said Peters will be able to heal Precinct 4.
Despite being stripped of her office and her replacement learning his duties, Brown is fighting to regain her seat.
She filed an appeal to the Texas Third Court of Appeals, asking the court to reinstate her as JP so that she can resign from office. Additionally, Brown, 80, is seeking $100,000 in compensation for court costs and lost wages.
Brown said she wants to resign on her own terms “because of the unbearable work environment created by a handful of law enforcement workers and lawyers who colluded to have me removed from office.”
A jury decided to remove Brown after they found her to have engaged in official misconduct, was grossly incompetent or negligent, and had developed physical or mental defects since being elected.
“I’m not incompetent,” Brown said last week. “I was not unfit to do the job — mentally or physically.”
— TEMPLE DAILY NEWS
