A Hood County Judge is considering dismissing charges against Eva Royer, a former Granbury City Council candidate who was arrested for allegedly using the wrong address on election paperwork.
City officials have again failed to release all the evidence necessary for Royer’s defense, leading her attorney to seek dismissal during Tuesday’s pre-trial hearing. Judge Richard Hattox, who has called the city’s behavior “embarrassing,” is now considering whether to dismiss the charges before next week’s trial.
Background
Eva Royer—a Hood County Republican Party committee chair—filed to run for Granbury City Council in 2024, using a Granbury address. After a dispute arose over her residency, Royer withdrew her candidacy.
In April 2025, Royer was arrested by the Granbury Police Department on one count of perjury, a state jail felony, and election fraud, a Class A misdemeanor. She posted bond and was released the following day.
Since that time, Rob Christian—Royer’s attorney—has been attempting to acquire the State’s evidence necessary for his client’s defense.
As previously reported, the City of Granbury and Granbury Police Department have repeatedly failed to turn over essential evidence, including precisely who filed the original complaint against Royer, raising concerns about her right to confront her accuser.
Christian has filed requests to compel discovery, even going as far as to file subpoenas against four public officials—Granbury Police Chief Mitch Galvan, Criminal Investigations Lieutenant Russell Grizzard, City Secretary Carla Walker, and City Manager Chris Coffman.
Last week, Galvan, Grizzard, and Walker were ordered to appear in court, bringing with them all responsive documents to Christian’s discovery requests. Both Grizzard and Walker presented data that they claimed hadn’t been handed over before. Chief Galvan failed to bring with him any data, as was required by the subpoena, and instead claimed that everything he had was included on Grizzard’s thumb drive.
Coffman was out of the country on vacation and had yet to be served, though he was expected to return the next day.
Hood County Court at Law Judge Richard Hattox signaled skepticism over the city’s repeated failures, and scheduled another hearing for August 4. Chief Galvan was ordered to return with his data and Hattox hoped that would be enough time for Coffman to return, be served, and appear with the responsive data.
This would also allow both parties time to review what Grizzard and Walker had presented.
Tuesday’s Hearing
On Tuesday, the court reconvened to learn that Coffman had still not been served. Upon his return to Granbury, he immediately headed to San Antonio—in what the county attorney’s office is calling a “miscommunication.” Repeated attempts were made to serve him, according to the constable’s office.
Christian stated that after having combed through the evidence presented by Grizzard and Walker, it contained nothing he didn’t already have, and none of the additional information he needed.
Galvan returned to court and presented his drive, stating that he did have something for the court that wasn’t included on Grizzard’s drive. These were screenshots of a group message that Grizzard had a separate version of.
These messages contained evidence from around the time of Royer’s arrest, suggesting that Galvan, Grizzard, Coffman, and Granbury City Attorney Jeremy SoRelle were colluding to brainstorm how they could charge her in what was seemingly targeted lawfare.
This group message was a significant focus of Tuesday’s hearing, as it included two other members who should have produced their own versions of the message as evidence, but hadn’t. Christian argued that it is clear evidence the city has not handed over everything it should have.
Christian pointed out that the police department has the technological capability to comb through devices when investigating crimes, and asked Galvan if the department had done this to comply with the repeated discovery requests. Galvan confirmed that it had not, though it would only have taken hours or days.
This failure, Christian contends, is evidence that the city didn’t methodically ensure compliance with the discovery orders. While the data could have been collected and turned over in two days, it has been pending for two years.
An Argument for Dismissal
Christian argued that the city’s failures not only hamper Royer’s defense, but also signal a “substantial and irreparable” lack of credibility in the government’s case.
Because Royer is facing a year in jail, all evidence is necessary to not only convince the jury that she didn’t commit election fraud, but alternatively that her sentence should be mitigated. This could be done by showing that city officials targeted her for a crime that has not been prosecuted before in the county, nor pursued in such an aggressive and personal manner.
Christian asserted that the “obvious remedy” is to render the evidence not yet turned over “inadmissible.” Yet because she could not receive a fair trial without this evidence, he argued that the charges should be dismissed entirely.
In response, Assistant Hood County Attorney Katy Spraberry asserted that Christian’s discovery orders are out of the ordinary, and that all relevant parties have been “very compliant” once they understood their responsibilities. She added that Christian is looking for information that “doesn’t exist and never existed.”
Judge Hattox disagreed, calling her “out of the ordinary” argument “disingenuous.” He stated that the city has a reason for doing what it is doing—in not complying with discovery—and that he wants to know what that reason is. He added that the jury would also want to know.
Hattox reiterated that the court has yet to learn the accuser’s name, noting that neither party would be playing with a full deck of cards with the evidence obtained to this point.
Rather than ruling on whether to dismiss during the hearing, Judge Hattox stated that he would not make a decision “without doing some reading,” and encouraged both parties to send him relevant case law.
Hattox bluntly asserted that it is “embarrassing to the system” that the defendant has had to fight so hard for discovery in this case.
Trial is currently scheduled for Monday at 8:30 a.m., subject to a decision in the coming days on whether the charges will be dismissed.
During both pre-trial hearings, the courtroom was packed with Royer’s colleagues and supporters.
Among her supporters was Kolton Krottinger—a Navy veteran and journalist who was arrested by the Hood County Sheriff’s Office for posting a political meme.
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