Rains County Justice of the Peace Robert Jenkins Franklin was arrested on Wednesday, May 28, and booked into the Van Zandt County Jail following a grand jury indictment on four felony charges — two counts of official oppression and two counts of tampering with a witness.
According to court records, the charges stem from two separate incidents. One oppression and one tampering charge are linked to an October 16, 2023 incident, while the other two are connected to an event that occurred on February 18, 2025. All charges were filed in Rains County.
The indictments allege that in February 2025, Franklin coerced Jennifer Patterson, the chief clerk in his office, to sign a false affidavit while using his position of authority as both a judge and her employer.
In the 2023 incident, Franklin is accused of threatening and pressuring Coby Wiebe to falsely testify and accept a plea deal in a pending felony case. On May 1, 2025, Wiebe filed a federal lawsuit alleging that Franklin made a 19-second phone call to him on October 16, 2023, just two days before Wiebe entered a no contest plea. During the call, Franklin allegedly told Wiebe, "I heard you have a problem with me, boy. You take that deal, boy -- or dead men can't testify."
Wiebe later provided the Rains County District Attorney's Office with phone records and polygraph results supporting his claim. The DA’s office subsequently filed a motion to dismiss Wiebe’s sentence, citing evidence of coercion. The district court later vacated the conviction.
Wiebe’s lawsuit names both Franklin and Rains County as defendants, citing violations of his First, Fourth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights. He is seeking monetary and compensatory damages for mental anguish, emotional distress, and punitive damages.
Franklin remains under indictment as the investigation and civil lawsuit proceed.
