HOUSTON — A well-known Houston judge was arrested early Tuesday and charged with driving while intoxicated.
An HPD officer pulled Kelli Johnson, 52, over just before 3 a.m. and arrested her. It was her first offense and she was charged with misdemeanor DWI.
No other details were available.
Johnson's attorney, Christopher Tritico, sent us the following statement Wednesday night.
"Judge Kelli Johnson was not behind the wheel intoxicated. In fact, she voluntarily submitted to a breath test which came back 0.0, or no alcohol. This situation was not caused by an alcohol or drug abuse issue. The brief medical episode is being immediately addressed with her doctor. She asks for privacy while addressing this personal health matter. Judge Johnson has served Harris County with distinction for more than 20 years, as a judge and former Assistant District Attorney. She looks forward to returning to the bench and continuing to provide respect, fairness, and justice to all who come before her."
Johnson is a longtime criminal courts judge who's presided over several high-profile trials including A.J. Armstrong's murder trial in the 2016 shooting deaths of his parents at their Bellaire home and David Temple's second murder trial in the death of his pregnant wife Belinda.
More recently, Johnson sentenced Brian Coulter to life in prison without parole in April after she found him guilty of murder in the death of his 8-year-old stepson, Kendrick Lee.
"Those children have haunted me this last week," Johnson said after the trial. "They have haunted my mind and they have interrupted my safe space when I leave this building."
Kendrick was beaten to death by Coulter in November 2020 and left his body in an apartment with his three young brothers.
