Constable explains 'concerning' conduct after delivering eviction papers at 1 a.m.

BURNET COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — Hally Kilburn was awakened during the early morning hours last August by bright lights and someone at her home.

"It scared the bejesus out of me. Somebody banging on my house at one o'clock in the morning," Kilburn said.

Kilburn opened her front door after turning her cell phone on to record and found the person banging on her home to be a Burnet County Constable.

The constable was there to serve eviction papers, according to Kilburn. And although he was well within his rights to do so, the timing left her searching for a recourse to hold him accountable. KXAN discovered that's hard to do.

'Ashamed of my actions'

KXAN obtained the cell phone video showing the interaction between Kilburn and the constable that night.

Kilburn is heard throughout the video telling the constable to leave and questioning the legality of his presence in the middle of the night.

"It is one a.m. This is illegal," Kilburn stated multiple times, to which the constable replied "I don't care. Here's your paperwork. Come get it."

But what he was doing wasn't illegal. According to the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, constables technically have the authority to serve legal papers at any time, with certain exceptions on Sundays

When Kilburn asks the constable for his name and badge number, he initially told her "I don't have one" several times before stating his name to be Adams.

After more than three minutes, the video showed the man leaving as he stated, "I will be back."

According to the Burnet County website, Garry Adams is the Precinct 2 Constable.

KXAN spoke with Adams, who explained that it's not common practice for him to serve papers in the middle of the night like this, but after multiple failed attempts to contact her, it was a last resort.

"99% of the time I make a phone call, people answer me or call me back, and we set up a date and time," Adams said.

Justice of the Peace Precinct 2 Lisa Whitehead confirmed to KXAN that Constable Adams was serving papers issued out of her court and stated she was recently made aware of the video footage of the incident.

"After viewing it, I found the unprofessional conduct displayed to be very concerning," Whitehead said.

Whitehead explained once papers are issued, the court has no involvement with the manner in which they are served.

"Constable Adams, as an elected official is solely responsible and accountable for his actions and behavior/conduct in the course of his business," Whitehead said.

Kilburn told KXAN she didn't initially take any further steps to report the incident because she didn't think anyone in a small county would care.

"It was really traumatizing. I wanted to put it behind me," Kilburn said.

According to Kilburn, she decided to file a formal complaint with the Burnet County Sheriff's Office after seeing Adams on a re-election campaign poster. She said she wanted to make her experience known before the election.

However, the Sheriff's office will only initiate an investigation if there's sufficient evidence to suggest a crime may have occurred.

The Sheriff's office told KXAN a complaint against Adams was filed. However, BCSO said the information provided did not constitute a criminal matter that needed to be investigated and that it doesn't conduct internal investigations of other elected officials.

Adams was reelected as Precinct 2 Constable in the 2024 primary election after defeating his sole opponent.

Adams explained that although he was just trying to do his job, he's not proud of how he handled the situation that night.

"I am ashamed of my actions," Adams said. "I should have just pitched the papers over the fence and left."

Kilburn said she found new place to live in a different county shortly after this incident.

Texas constables and oversight

Constables in Texas are commissioned peace officers elected to serve four-year terms in their specific county precinct.

According to the Texas Government Code, constables have the authority to enforce any criminal or civil law, which generally consists of serving as bailiffs for Justice of the Peace Courts and serving warrants or various civil legal documents such as subpoenas and temporary restraining orders.

Rule 176.7 of the Civil Procedures states, "A party causing a subpoena to issue must take reasonable steps to avoid imposing undue burden or expense on the person served. In ruling on objections or motions for protection, the court must provide a person served with a subpoena an adequate time for compliance, protection from disclosure of privileged material or information, and protection from undue burden or expense. The court may impose reasonable conditions on compliance with a subpoena, including compensating the witness for undue hardship."

Additionally, the Texas Government Code clarifies that a constable is presumed to be on duty working in an official capacity paid for by the county at the time a civil process is served.

In Texas, elected officers can only be removed or disciplined once a petition for removal is filed with the district court due to incompetency, official misconduct or intoxication, according to Texas' Local Government Code.

As elected county officials, constables fall under the power and jurisdiction of those elected to serve as members of the county commissioners court who are ultimately responsible for all county business, according to the Texas Constitution.

KXAN reached out to the Burnet County Precinct 2 commissioner and asked if he was aware of the incident involving Kilburn and Constable Adams, and whether the Commissioners Court was conducting its own investigation.

This story will be updated once a response is received.