Hunt County District Attorney · An Accountability Project

Demand Accountability.

Crime is up. Convictions are down. Our community deserves a District Attorney who prioritizes public safety, courtroom excellence, and fiscal responsibility.

Demand Better See the Record ↓

Hunt County DA Noble Walker speaking at a pride parade, holding a Twisted Tea — The District Attorney, away from the courtroom. Full color — the record speaks for itself.

ACT I

The Charges

Public records and official data paint a clear picture. Judge the performance for yourself.

Charge 1 · Rising Crime

Crime rates are trending in the wrong direction. Violent crime, property crime, and drug offenses are all climbing while our DA's office fails to adapt. Residents are less safe today than they were five years ago, and the data from public records confirms it.

Public records show troubling trends in both violent and property crime. The data raises serious questions about whether current prosecution strategies are keeping our community safe.

From the record +

Violent Crime Trends: Official crime data shows violent offenses — assaults, robberies, and domestic violence cases — trending upward over recent years. A DA's office that cannot deter violent crime through effective prosecution is failing its core mission.
Property Crime Trends: Burglaries, thefts, and property destruction continue to climb according to public records. When property criminals face minimal consequences, the cycle of offending accelerates.
Drug-Related Offenses: Drug crime remains a persistent challenge, with official data showing increases in possession and distribution cases. The DA's office approach to drug prosecution directly impacts community safety.
Repeat Offender Patterns: Public court records reveal a pattern of repeat offenders cycling through the system. Weak prosecution and lenient plea deals contribute to high recidivism rates that endanger the community.

The data →

Charge 2 · Falling Convictions

Fewer cases are resulting in guilty verdicts. Dismissal rates are climbing, plea deals are getting weaker, and serious offenders are returning to the streets. When the DA's office cannot secure convictions, criminals are emboldened and victims are denied justice.

The DA's office conviction rate has been declining while case dismissals increase — a trend that undermines public safety and victim confidence in the justice system.

From the record +

Declining Conviction Rates: Official data shows conviction rates falling year over year. Fewer successful prosecutions mean more offenders avoid accountability, and communities become less safe as a result.
Rising Case Dismissals: A growing number of cases are being dismissed before trial. This pattern, documented in public court records, suggests inadequate case preparation and poor prosecutorial decision-making.
Plea Bargain Concerns: When cases do resolve, an over-reliance on weak plea deals means serious offenders face minimal consequences. Violent and repeat offenders deserve more aggressive prosecution, not bargain-basement justice.
Trial Readiness: An office that rarely takes cases to trial signals weakness to defense attorneys. Public records show that trial rates have declined, resulting in weaker outcomes across the board.

The data →

Charge 3 · Budget Waste

Office spending continues to rise while measurable results decline. Taxpayer dollars are funding a growing bureaucracy that produces fewer convictions, longer case backlogs, and less public safety. The community deserves to know where every dollar goes — and what it produces.

Taxpayer funding for the DA's office has increased significantly, yet measurable outcomes — convictions, case clearance rates, victim satisfaction — have not kept pace.

From the record +

Budget Growth vs. Results: Public budget documents show consistent year-over-year increases in DA office funding. Yet conviction rates are down, dismissals are up, and case backlogs continue to grow. More money has not meant better results.
Staffing & Retention: High prosecutor turnover is a documented problem. Experienced attorneys are leaving, and their replacements require significant training time — all funded by taxpayers, with diminished courtroom performance.
Technology & Infrastructure: Despite budget increases, the office reportedly operates with outdated case management systems. Modern prosecution requires modern tools — and the budget should reflect measurable technology investments.
Cost Per Conviction: When you divide the total office budget by successful convictions, the cost per conviction has risen dramatically. Taxpayers are paying more and getting less. Budget transparency is essential for accountability.

The numbers →

Charge 4 · Absent Leadership

The DA's office requires full-time, undivided leadership. Instead, Noble "Nobie" Walker splits his time between Hunt County and his academic career — teaching as a professor at Texas A&M Commerce and jetting off to conferences in California. When he's actually here, he's all hat, no cattle. An office without consistent, engaged leadership cannot perform at the level our community demands.

Public records and official schedules raise questions about whether the DA is treating this elected position as a full-time commitment to the community.

From the record +

Academic Commitments: The current DA maintains a position as a professor, which requires time and attention that could be directed toward managing the DA's office. An elected prosecutor should be prosecuting — full time.
Office Presence & Management: Effective leadership requires consistent presence. When the top prosecutor is dividing attention between the office and outside engagements, day-to-day management suffers and staff morale declines.
Strategic Direction: A DA's office without engaged, full-time leadership struggles to set prosecution priorities, adapt to emerging crime trends, and maintain the aggressive posture that public safety demands.
Community Engagement: Public records of community meetings, press availability, and stakeholder engagement can reveal whether the DA is accessible and responsive to the community that elected them.

The schedule →

The data is clear. Our community deserves a DA's office that is accountable, present, and effective.

ACT II

The Evidence · DA plows down elderly hero in school zone — grand jury shrugs

“I Killed an Old Lady” — the DA’s own words.

An 87-year-old crossing guard. A school zone. No police report, no state investigators for a month — then a “no bill” delivered by the DA’s best friend, special prosecutor Kenda Culpepper, and the records sealed forever.

Newsprint collage: KILLED IN A PREVENTABLE CRASH — SERIOUS CHARGES MYSTERIOUSLY DISAPPEARED. Photo of crossing guards Christine Sandlin and her husband holding STOP signs; a wrecked car; a JUSTICE DENIED stamp. — Christine Sandlin served the same crosswalk for 14 years.

March 2017

Walker strikes 87-year-old crossing guard Christine Sandlin in a school-zone crosswalk. No local police report is ever filed.
One month later

Only then are state investigators finally called in — a month of silence after a fatal collision.
The "special" prosecutor

The investigation lands with Kenda Culpepper of Rockwall County — Nobie’s best friend.
November 2017

Culpepper’s grand-jury presentation ends exactly where a best friend’s would: "no bill." No charges. No trial.
Forever

Because no indictment was returned, every record — witness accounts, forensics, Walker’s own statements — is sealed. Permanently.

Greenville, TX —In a gut-wrenching display of elite impunity, Hunt County District Attorney Noble Walker barreled through a school zone crosswalk on a dark, rainy March morning in 2017, striking 87-year-old Christine Sandlin, a beloved crossing guard who had safely ushered kids across that street for 14 years. Sandlin—featured as an “Unsung Hero” just a year prior—suffered blunt force trauma and died two weeks later in a Dallas hospital, right after learning her husband had passed. Her son couldn't share the news in time.

Police reports pinned it on Walker's failure to yield, yet no arrest followed. “If it was anyone else, they'd be in cuffs,” locals blasted, demanding DPS takeover due to the DA's cozy ties with law enforcement. A special prosecutor from Rockwall County, Kenda Culpepper, was appointed after Kaufman County Judge B. Michael Chitty flagged the obvious conflict—Walker couldn't exactly prosecute himself.

Culpepper's team dug deep: interviewing officers, medics, civilian witnesses, and Sandlin's family. By October 2017 she announced completion, presenting findings on potential criminally negligent homicide to a specially convened Hunt County grand jury. Seven months of scrutiny, and what? A “no bill” in November 2017—a “tragic accident,” not criminal. This from a man who routinely hammers lesser negligence cases in his own courtroom.

The Shield of Secrecy

How did the special prosecutor reach this conclusion? We may never fully know. Kenda Culpepper, appointed from Rockwall County to lead the probe, had her team interview numerous officers, medical personnel, civilian witnesses, and Christine Sandlin's family. Yet, because the grand jury ultimately issued a “no bill” citing insufficient probable cause, the detailed findings—witness accounts, forensics, and Walker's own statements—remain permanently sealed from public scrutiny. Investigations like this stay locked away unless an indictment is handed down, leaving the public with nothing but persistent outrage over a two-tiered justice system that offers leniency for a DA while throwing the book at ordinary drivers. Read the full investigation →

ACT III

The Verdict

Hunt County runs on faith, family, and the Second Amendment. Our DA doesn't.

Faith & Character

East Texas communities are built on church pews and handshake integrity. A DA who kills an elderly crossing guard and hides behind a grand jury’s secrecy doesn’t reflect the moral backbone this county was raised on.

Second Amendment

Out here, the right to bear arms isn’t a talking point—it’s a way of life. But what good is a pro-gun DA who won’t prosecute violent offenders? Weak on crime means weak on the freedoms we fight to protect.

Family First

Families in Hunt County deserve to feel safe sending their kids to school, walking to the store, or sitting on their front porch. Rising crime and falling convictions tell our families they’re on their own.

East Texas doesn't ask for much—just a DA who shares our values, shows up to work, and holds criminals accountable. Noble Walker falls short on all three.

All Hat, No Cattle — we elected him. We paid him. This is what was delivered.

Gone to California

When he’s not playing professor at Texas A&M Commerce, Noble “Nobie” Walker is attending “conferences”—or whatever—in California. Hunt County taxpayers are footing the bill for a District Attorney who treats this office like a side gig between academic engagements on the other side of the country.

Part-Time Prosecutor

A District Attorney is a full-time job. The people of Hunt County didn’t elect a part-time administrator who moonlights as an academic. While Walker is teaching classes and traveling to conferences, cases pile up, prosecutors lack direction, and criminals operate with less oversight.

Your Tax Dollars at Work

Hunt County pays Noble Walker a full-time salary to be the District Attorney. Not a professor. Not a conference attendee. Not a part-time consultant. Every day he spends out of the office is a day the community pays for leadership it isn’t getting.

Not Our Values

If “Nobie” represents your values, you probably just moved here from California. Hunt County was built by people who show up, do the work, and keep their word. Walker’s record of absenteeism and excuses doesn’t cut it here.

Noble Walker isn't just light in the saddle— he doesn't own a saddle. He's all hat, no cattle. And Hunt County deserves better than a DA who's only here when it's convenient.

What We Demand — the standards our DA's office should meet

1.

Full-Time Focus

A District Attorney who treats this as a full-time commitment, not a side job. Our community deserves undivided attention.
2.

Courtroom Excellence

Thorough case preparation, trial readiness, and skilled prosecution that holds criminals accountable and reduces dismissals.
3.

Fiscal Accountability

Transparent budgeting that shows taxpayers where every dollar goes and what results those investments produce.
4.

Transparent Prosecution

Regular public reporting on conviction rates, case outcomes, and office performance so the community can hold its DA accountable.

Demand Better.

Our community deserves a DA who shows up, does the work, and delivers results. Get involved — contact us, share the facts, and hold our elected officials accountable.