Harris County
Harris County Treasurer Carla Wyatt
A Harris County grand jury on Wednesday declined to indict County Treasurer Carla Wyatt on a criminal charge of burglarizing a vehicle, according to court documents.
The jury returned a no bill on Wednesday afternoon with Judge Colleen Gaido of the 337th Criminal Court presiding, records show. The decision effectively disposes of Wyatt’s misdemeanor burglary charge — though the elected county treasurer is still scheduled to appear in court next week.
Wyatt, 56, was arrested in December and accused of breaking into another person’s vehicle in a restaurant parking lot with the intent to commit theft. Prosecutors alleged that several people watched as Wyatt searched through items inside a vehicle that wasn’t hers.
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A probable cause hearing to determine whether enough evidence existed to continue charging Wyatt was delayed for two months before prosecutors opted to present evidence in the case before a grand jury, shutting off discussions about the high-profile case from public view.
Wyatt’s attorney, Christopher Downey, could not immediately be reached for comment on Thursday. He told Houston Public Media earlier this week that the decision to present the case before a grand jury was a sound decision. Grand juries typically do not review misdemeanor charges.
“Doing so would help to remove any allegation that the charging decision — whether to proceed with a criminal prosecution or not — was politically motivated because it would have been reviewed by a panel of citizens and not just the DA’s office,” he said. “Contrary to the popular saying, a grand jury will not indict a ham sandwich. In my experience, they review such allegations very closely.”
Rafael Lemaitre, a spokesperson for the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, said Monday that the role of grand juries is important in cases involving elected officials.
“They provide independent, community-driven oversight and ensure prosecutors have probable cause that a crime was committed before any charges move forward,” Lemaitre said.
Wyatt, a Democrat who was elected in 2022, was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated after allegedly having a blood-alcohol concentration of at least .15%, nearly twice the legal limit. The case record includes two bond violation reports — one in January 2024 for failing to obtain an ignition interlock device for her vehicle that tests for blood alcohol content, and again in March that year for a blood alcohol content level that was above the legal limit.
That DWI charge was dismissed in August 2025 after Wyatt completed a pretrial diversion program, court records show.
Wyatt is still in the throes of a shakeup in her office after county commissioners in February stripped the office of a key function — operating an automated alert system that detects fraud payments. Commissioners also voted unanimously to pursue dissolving the county treasurer’s office, which would require the approval of Texas lawmakers as well as voters in Harris County and across the state.
Wyatt did not have any challengers in the Democratic primary election in March and will be on the general election ballot in November, facing Republican Marc Cowart.