A Tarrant County justice of the peace accused of forging voter signatures to get on a ballot earlier this year pleaded guilty to tampering with government records on Monday and resigned.
Russ Casey, justice of the peace for Precinct 3 in Southlake, will avoid jail time.
He was sentenced to two years in state jail, but the sentenced will be probated over five years, according to the Tarrant County district attorney's office.
“No one is above the law in Tarrant County,” District Attorney Sharen Wilson said in a statement.
Casey, in a statement, apologized "for the way that I have ended my judicial career."
"I ask for forgiveness," Casey said.
Judges in Texas are required to file a petition with voter signatures to be put on a ballot. Casey submitted a petition in December with 318 signatures, many of which "were not given by actual citizens," according to a statement from the district attorney's office.
The sheriff's department began investigating the allegation in January, and Casey dropped his re-election bid ahead of the March primary.
Last year, Casey was reprimanded by a state court for sexual misconduct between him and his court clerk.
