Posted 2:56 pm Wednesday, October 03, 2012
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Dustin Rust pleads guilty to two counts, gets 4 years probation, loses Texas law enforcement license
By DAYNA WORCHEL
dworchel@tylerpaper.com
A former Smith County constable pleaded guilty this morning to two misdemeanor charges and will lose his Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Education license, Smith County District Attorney Matt Bingham said.
dworchel@tylerpaper.com
A former Smith County constable pleaded guilty this morning to two misdemeanor charges and will lose his Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Education license, Smith County District Attorney Matt Bingham said.
Dustin Robert Rust, 31, entered the plea in the Smith County 241st District Court with Judge Jack Skeen Jr. presiding. Rust pleaded guilty to one count of operating a security company without a license. He received one year in the Smith County jail, which will be probated for two years. This is a class A misdemeanor.
Rust plead guilty to a Class A misdemeanor of theft by a public servant. The punishment is up to one year in Smith County jail. Rust received two years deferred adjudication.
“He could possibly get the license back in 10 years,” Bingham said on Wednesday morning. In order to work as a licenses peace officer in Texas, an individual must have a current TCLEOSE license.
Rust was arrested in April after he and four of his deputies, who were arrested in February, were charged with operating a private security business without a license. Authorities said they patrolled the Woods subdivision while working on the clock for Smith County.
There was one additional misdemeanor charge filed against Rust Friday in addition to the pending charges for which he was indicted. Rust has been indicted on two counts of abuse of official capacity, a state jail felony; one count of theft by a public servant, a third-degree felony; and 10 counts of operating a security company without a license, a Class A misdemeanor.
Each charge of abuse of official capacity carries up to two years in jail and a $10,000 fine. The third-degree felony theft, for allegedly using taxpayer dollars to illegally run a security business for benefit, carries up to 10 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.
The new charge, theft by a public servant, filed on Friday was a Class A misdemeanor. The penalty for this new charge is up to one year in jail and up to a $4,000 fine according to the Texas penal code.
“He could possibly get the license back in 10 years,” Bingham said on Wednesday morning. In order to work as a licenses peace officer in Texas, an individual must have a current TCLEOSE license.
Rust was arrested in April after he and four of his deputies, who were arrested in February, were charged with operating a private security business without a license. Authorities said they patrolled the Woods subdivision while working on the clock for Smith County.
There was one additional misdemeanor charge filed against Rust Friday in addition to the pending charges for which he was indicted. Rust has been indicted on two counts of abuse of official capacity, a state jail felony; one count of theft by a public servant, a third-degree felony; and 10 counts of operating a security company without a license, a Class A misdemeanor.
Each charge of abuse of official capacity carries up to two years in jail and a $10,000 fine. The third-degree felony theft, for allegedly using taxpayer dollars to illegally run a security business for benefit, carries up to 10 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.
The new charge, theft by a public servant, filed on Friday was a Class A misdemeanor. The penalty for this new charge is up to one year in jail and up to a $4,000 fine according to the Texas penal code.
