Provided/City of La Marque
La Marque Mayor Keith Bell was arrested on Friday, Aug. 21, for alleged indecent exposure.
La Marque residents packed into the city council chambers Monday night following Mayor Keith Bell’s recent arrest for alleged indecent exposure on Aug. 21. Bell was released on a $75,000 bond over the weekend and was present at Monday’s council meeting.
While some residents called for the mayor to step down following the allegations, others spoke on Bell’s integrity and encouraged due process. Bell listened to the comments, but had to break tension in the room multiple times as residents began arguing.
“Sir, you make my stomach turn now. You have proven to be disgraceful, incompetent, perverted, unprofessional, disappointing and a liar to our community. You’ve broken my heart,” La Marque resident Eva Livy said at the meeting. “I think you should be suspended immediately.”
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Vanessa McAfee said she’s known Bell for about 20 years and has known him to be “a man of integrity.”
“When the news broke, I said, ‘This is totally out of character for Keith. He is a private person, and even perhaps under the influence, I don’t believe this is something Keith would do,'” McAfee said.
McAfee suggested waiting to see what the evidence shows and questioned the $75,000 bond, calling it an “extraordinary amount.”
“It raises serious questions and quite frankly gives the appearance that the decision may have been politically motivated,” McAfee said.
During the meeting, La Marque business owner Sherry Woodard referenced public data outlined by the Texas Defense Lawyer indicating that the average bail amount for a class B misdemeanor in Brazoria County, where Bell was arrested, is $3,208.
According to a statement from the Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office, the victim said that while walking into an Angleton business lobby area, she noticed a Black male, later identified as Bell, allegedly “with his genitalia out self-gratifying in an office chair.” She said she then turned away and contacted law enforcement, according to the statement.
Deputies said Bell was later arrested in the afternoon at the same location after officers reviewed surveillance footage and got an arrest warrant.
Along with the $75,000 bond, Bell was released under conditions that he not contact the complainant, go near her residence or the school she attends. Officials with the City of La Marque said Bell will remain in office unless he resigns or is removed in accordance with the City Charter and the law.
Bell was elected as mayor in 2021 and has served as a pastor, according to the city’s website.
Bell did not directly address his arrest and allegations in Monday’s city council meeting. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
Officials with the City of La Marque did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. Over the weekend, city officials said they hadn’t been in contact with Bell yet, but the city manager planned to call him on Monday.