Mayor Wynn charged with misdemeanor assault

Prosecutors this week filed a misdemeanor assault charge against Austin Mayor Will Wynn. They allege the Mayor made assaulted a guest during a party at his condominium complex in 2006. He pled no contest Tuesday to a Class C misdemeanor charge—the lowest level of criminal complaint.

 

However, under a form of deferred adjudication, the charge could be dismissed if the Mayor follows the instructions set forth by the Justice of the Peace Herb Evans, giving him a choice of 20 hours community service or private counseling.

 

“I’m glad that this process has been resolved and I of course will comply with the judge’s order and have this charge dismissed,” the Mayor said in a written statement issued by his office Wednesday afternoon.

 

The incident leading to the assault charge happened on March 17, 2006. The Mayor got into a dispute with another guest at a party held inside his condo complex on West Fifth Street. At the time, the Mayor said he “physically escorted” the man from the property.

 

Prosecutors apparently concluded that action met the definition of Class C misdemeanor assault, which occurs when “a person intentionally or knowingly causes physical contact with another…when the person knows or should reasonably believe that the other will regard the contact as offensive.” Under Texas law, prosecutors had a maximum of two years from the date of the incident to file charges.

 

Mayor Wynn has scheduled a news conference at 9:30am today at City Hall to discuss the case.