Trial Beings Today--

More than 10 months after being arrested and seven months after a change of venue, a Lockney justice of the peace faces trial beginning today in Randall County for attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon in the shooting of her husband.

Floyd County Justice of the Peace Michelle Araujo is accused of allegedly shooting her husband, Romeo Araujo, three times in the abdomen area at their home about 7 miles north of Lockney on March 10.
The trial was moved from Floyd County to Randall County in June. A change of venue became necessary due to the publicity of the case in Lockney, said 110th District Attorney Becky McPherson.
“It was big news, of course, in Lockney, a JP shooting her husband,” McPherson told the Amarillo Globe-News. “Everybody had an opinion on it. I don’t know if they could have even seated a jury here. Everybody knew about it here.”
Randall County Criminal District Attorney James Farren was named special prosecutor.
Defense attorneys are former 242nd District Attorney Terry McEachern of Plainview and former Lubbock County Criminal District Attorney Travis Ware.
Neither could be reached for comment.
McPherson said Michelle Araujo, 33 at the time of the shooting, and Romeo Araujo, then 39, remain married. Romeo Araujo filed for divorce but withdrew the petition, McPherson said.
Michelle Araujo, who has served as justice of the peace since October 1999 when she was appointed by Floyd County Commissioners, was suspended with pay on April 5 by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct after a misdemeanor charge of official oppression was lodged against her. The charge alleges Araujo threatened to use the authority of her office to ruin the quality of a citizen’s life.
Meanwhile, Michelle Araujo also faces a misdemeanor charge filed by the Texas Alcohol Beverage Commission on March 16 alleging she sold alcohol to a minor at Bruskie’s Liquor, a store owned by the Araujos in Briscoe County. It marked the second such allegation in a year.
Court action on the oppression charge and the charge of selling alcohol to a minor is pending.
Jury selection for the attempted murder trial was to begin at 9 a.m. today.
“We hope to have a jury sometime that afternoon and begin testimony that afternoon, but we might not get testimony until Tuesday,” Farren said. “It’s likely the case will run the rest of the week and may run into next week.”
Farren said trials of public officials present problems for prosecutors and defense attorneys alike, especially with jury selection.
“Both sides are looking for a jury that can be fair,” Farren told the Globe-News. “Some see public officials as people who can be trusted. Other people suspect all politicians are shady characters. Both sides want to select jurors who will be fair and impartial. An absolutely fair jury will decide the case based on the merits of the case and not on the position that anybody has (about public officials).”
Each charge in the trial — attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon — is a second-degree felony that carries a punishment of two to 20 years in prison, Farren said.
However, Farren said, “Assault with a deadly weapon is normally a second-degree felony, but certain relationships raise the penalty to a first-degree felony. If it’s proven that the victim was her husband and it’s proven that she used a deadly weapon, the charge can rise to a first-degree felony.
“It seems strange, but a person could face more time for aggravated assault than for attempted murder.”
(Contact Kevin Lewis at 806-296-1353 or kwlewis@hearstnp.com)