TEXAS CITY, Texas – A second arrest of a Texas City employee has been made Thursday morning in the online impersonation case of La Marque city council member Joseph Lowry, KPRC 2 has learned.
Jennifer Laird, who serves as communications director for Texas City, was booked into the Galveston County Jail on a $10,000 bond Thursday. She faces a felony charge of online harassment, according to jail records.
This comes after an arrest was made in June of multimedia specialist Derek Miller, who was accused of creating a fake Facebook account using Joseph Lowry’s name and photos.
“I’m impressed with the La Marque Police Department for their investigative skills,” Lowry said. “But it’s sad that our local government is willing to attack citizens. It’s devastating, and I wonder how many other victims there are.”
The councilman added that he’s been outspoken against Mayor Dedrick Johnson and has previously accused city leaders of using code enforcement and fire inspections to target his business.
Residents like Brad Jones, who works at Mainland Tools in Texas City, told KPRC 2 they’re frustrated their tax dollars may have been used while employees allegedly ran the fake account.
“Personally, it’s pretty immature,” Jones said. “It says a lot about this administration. There’s no telling how many other fake accounts."
Jones questioned whether taxpayers could be on the hook for the city workers’ legal fees, since both arrests happened during work hours and involved government resources.
Since Laird often served as the city’s media contact, KPRC 2 went to Texas City Hall on Thursday to seek comment from city officials. The city secretary’s office was closed, and staff told us Mayor Johnson was not available.
As of Thursday evening, the city had not issued a statement.
Back in July, Mayor Johnson said Miller was still employed with the city.