5 things we know about Belew’s criminal past

Since we released our first story about Kerr County Precinct 1 Commissioner Harley David Belew’s criminal past, and how that might impact his standing on the Kerr County Commissioners Court. Here’s a look at our five significant elements of the story. 

1. Belew is a convicted felon. Despite an effort by Belew to deflect, the criminal records show that he faced at least one felony conviction in 1973 for burglarizing a Fort Worth-area department store. At the time of the burglaries, Hurst and Haltom City police department said there were additional crimes — as many as four other burglaries. Belew pleaded guilty and received 10 years of probation. The information appears on Belew’s Texas Department of Public Safety criminal record — accessible for about $3. 
2. The loot was at Belew’s home. When Belew was arrested in March 18, 1973, police said they found merchandise stolen from the department stores at his Haltom City home, which included guns. The Fort Worth Star Telegram’s story said Belew and two others took at least $7,000 in stereos, clocks, guns and other items — valued at about $50,000 today. 
3. But he was only 17. Texas remains one of three states that automatically try 17-year-olds as adults. Despite efforts to reform the rule, the law has been on the books since 1918. And the felony has stayed on his record. 
4. But burglary isn’t a felony. We heard this persistent excuse from some readers, but let’s be clear — a lot has changed since 1973, but burglary is still a felony. Today, the burglary of a business is a state jail felony — meaning about two years in prison. Still a felony, but to a lesser degree than in 1973, when it was a 2nd-degree felony. That’s probably not comforting to a small business owner, but that’s the law now. Before 1974, much of Texas’ penal code stemmed from the original 1856 codes — tough sentences and punishments. After years of debate and work, the Texas Legislature approved the reformed penal code in October 1973, but Belew received his punishment in August before those reforms went into effect. 
5. But he has the right to vote. That’s true. Belew would have received his voting rights back after serving probation — sometime in the mid-1980s. However, he doesn’t have the right to run for public office automatically, which comes from an interpretation of the Texas Constitution by Attorney General Ken Paxton in 2019. Paxton concluded that felons, who were not pardoned or had some other remediation of their criminal records, could not hold public office. 

So, what’s next? 

Kerr County officials, the Texas Rangers and others are working on the case. The Texas Rangers assisted in the original 1973 investigation into the burglary ring. There are also unanswered questions: 

Why wasn’t Belew’s probation revoked in 1977 when he was convicted and fined for a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge? 

Why didn’t the Kerr County Republican Party vet Belew’s background in 2016? Belew narrowly defeated Dr. William Rector in that race in a GOP primary runoff. Belew attested that he was not a felon on his application, which could be either a felony or a misdemeanor. 

And the same issue arose in 2020 when Belew signed an oath attesting that he was not a felon. The party should have been paying closer attention to this after Paxton ruled the year before. 

What happens next? That’s the biggest question because there are several scenarios on how this could play out, but the simplest one is resignation.