Kailey Muir, a former assistant city attorney for Arlington, believes she was fired out of retaliation after she released partial records of Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn’s son last year.
Lucas Waybourn, 21, was arrested March 3, 2025 and charged with solicitation of a minor, assault on a peace officer and resisting arrest.
There were no court filings on the case or additional details from the sheriff for several months after that. Then the partial body camera footage of his arrest was posted online last Sept. 2 by independent journalist Basil Zangare, nearly seven months after Waybourn’s arrest.
“What happened to me definitely wasn’t fair, and there really wasn’t any reason why this should be kept out of the media other than the fact that it was Sheriff Waybourn’s son,” Muir told KERA News in an interview.
Susan Schrock, a spokesperson for the city of Arlington, denied Muir’s termination had anything to do with Lucas Waybourn’s arrest and said in an email to KERA News she was dismissed from at-will employment.
Muir said she worked in the records division of the legal department for Arlington when Zangare requested body camera footage of Waybourn’s arrest.
Initially, Zangare’s request was denied because it included information about an alleged victim under the age of 18, which is prohibited from being released to the public, according to the Texas Constitution.
But Zangare said he just wanted official records on the other two charges, according to Muir.
Muir said she checked with the paralegal team and her supervisor, deputy city attorney Steven Meyer, on whether she could release records about Waybourn’s arrest if it redacted all information about the charge related to solicitation of a minor. Muir said Meyer approved this.
Those redacted records were sent to Zangare last Aug. 28.
On Sept. 4, Muir said Meyer had a conversation with her about her performance. Among several things, Muir said he told her the records of Waybourn’s should have never been released.
Then, on Sept. 10, Muir said she took a few days off work after her grandmother passed away. When she came back to work Sept. 15, Meyer and his supervisor, Mary Supino, asked Muir to speak with her in Meyer’s office.
“It was a very somber mood in there, and they told me things aren’t working out and they’re going to let me go,” Muir said.
Muir said she wasn’t told at that moment why she was being fired. Instead, she said she was told they couldn’t talk about it and she needed to speak with the human resources department.
A phone call shared with KERA News showed a conversation between Muir and Supino.
Supino told Muir in the phone call her firing was related to concerns over performance issues, saying “one particular record request related Sheriff Waybourn’s son.”
Under Texas law, only one person’s consent is needed to record a phone call.
Supino told Muir it was “not handled appropriately” and the decision to fire her was “related to judgement and decision making and the handling of the work.”
“It wasn’t even in my mind that any of this would happen,” Muir said about getting fired. “I was just doing my job. I wanted to protect that minor.”
The Tarrant County District Attorney's office didn't file charges until Sept. 25 last year, court records show.
Court records show only two of the three original charges were filed, including solicitation of a minor and resisting arrest.
A spokesperson for the Tarrant County District Clerk’s Office told KERA News Waybourn’s case was recused from the county and is now being handled by the Parker County District Attorney.
Waybourn had an incompetent hearing Tuesday and another set for July 14, court records show.
Incompetency to stand trial means a person does not understand the charges against them.
Penelope Rivera is KERA's Tarrant County Accountability Reporter. Got a tip? Email Penelope Rivera at privera@kera.org.
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