A district judge who represents both Marion and Upshur counties was sentenced to one-year probation Monday after he pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated in September.
Judge Dean Fowler of the 115th District Court entered a guilty plea to his DWI charge and received one year of deferred adjudication probation, said Smith County District Attorney Jacob Putman.
Putman served as the special prosecutor for the case after Upshur County District Attorney Billy Byrd recused himself.
Upshur County deputies and Texas Department of Public Safety troopers responded at about 10 p.m. Sept. 9 to a wreck on Texas 154 east of Gilmer, Upshur County Sheriff Larry Webb said at the time. The investigation, Webb said, “resulted in the arrest” of Fowler.
Fowler vacated his seat after four terms as Upshur County judge to run unopposed for judge of the 115th District Court. He was first elected to the Upshur County judge post in November 2002 and took office Jan. 1, 2003. Fowler moved into the district judge’s chair at the beginning of 2019.