Frank Aguilar, Harris County judge, dies at 66, county officials say

Judge Frank Aguilar, who presided over the 228th District Court, died Sunday, according to county officials. He was 66.

Other judges were notified about Aguilar's death around 9 p.m. in an email from 55th District Court Judge Latosha Lewis Payne, local administrative judge over the courts. Payne, without elaborating in the email, described Aguilar's death as unexpected and asked that others pray for his family and the criminal district judges who knew him.

Aguilar, a Democrat, was elected to the Harris County bench in 2018. His term would have ended in 2026.

Details about his death were not immediately available. 

He was suspended from presiding over cases for several months this year after his Dec. 31, 2023, arrest in Galveston County on a misdemeanor assault charge. He was accused of assaulting his girlfriend. The charge was dismissed in July, with prosecutors partially attributing the end of their case to a lack of cooperation from the girlfriend. 

While an elected judge, Aguilar presided over the case involving former Houston police officer Gerald Goines, who was convicted last week of felony murder, and several other officers indicted in the wake of the 2019 Harding Street raid. The cases were transferred to another court amid his suspension.

The death of the jurist means Gov. Greg Abbott can appoint someone to take over the court through the next election.