Texas judge arrested on charges that he forged document

A county judge in Texas has been arrested on charges that he broke into a county clerk’s office and forged a government document.

San Jacinto County Judge John Lovett Jr. was arrested Monday on charges of burglary, forgery and tampering with an official government instrument.

Court records indicate Lovett, the top elected official in the county north of Houston, used a master key in July to enter the clerk’s office after-hours. He then allegedly used the clerk’s timestamp to approve the agenda for that month’s county commissioners’ meeting.

It’s not clear why Lovett sought to timestamp the agenda, rather than relying on the clerk to do it.

He’s previously said his actions fell under his authority.

Lovett was booked into the county jail Monday and later released.