Upshur County DWI Guide

The judge who presides over felony DWI cases in Upshur County — including Intoxication Assault and third-offense charges — has a DWI conviction of his own. In September 2022, 115th District Court Judge Dean Fowler was arrested after a collision on Highway 154 east of Gilmer, having mixed alcohol with prescription sleep medication before driving. District Attorney Billy Byrd recused himself immediately given the obvious conflict, and a special prosecutor from Smith County took the case. Judge Fowler pled guilty to a Class B Misdemeanor DWI in February 2023, drew a year of deferred adjudication from County Judge Todd Tefteller, and received a formal public warning from the State Commission on Judicial Conduct. He still sits on the bench hearing felony DWI cases today.

Getting the Car Back

WebbWorks Automotive in Gilmer handles most law enforcement impounds in the county, with Wyatt's Towing Service and Action Towing (out of neighboring Longview) picking up rotational overflow depending on where the arrest happened. Calling the Sheriff's Office non-emergency dispatch line with the plate or VIN is the fastest way to confirm which lot has the car. Storage runs up to $22.85 a day with a $272 tow cap, and Texas law explicitly bars a lot from demanding proof of insurance before release — only a photo ID and an instrument of release like a title or registration are required.

WebbWorks only operates Monday through Friday, 8 to 5, which creates a real trap for the most common arrest pattern: a Friday night DWI can mean the car sits impounded through Saturday and Sunday with no way to retrieve it until Monday, racking up three full days of storage. TDLR does require lots that aren't open 24/7 to release a vehicle within an hour of a request placed between 8 a.m. and midnight, but invoking that right triggers a separate after-hours gate fee — worth comparing against just eating the weekend storage cost before deciding which route actually saves money. If the registered owner is the one in jail, the proxy retrieving the car needs a notarized power of attorney naming them specifically; showing up with the keys and no paperwork gets nowhere.

Jail and Bond

Everyone books into the Upshur County Jail on North Titus Street, where magistration typically falls to one of the county's Justices of the Peace. Release after magistration takes 4-12 hours depending on jail volume, and first-offense bail typically runs $1,000-2,500, second offense commonly landing around $3,500 based on recent jail roster data. Release freezes for 1-2 hours during the standard 6 a.m./6 p.m. shift changes, so timing a bond to land mid-shift rather than right at the changeover avoids an avoidable delay.

Worth knowing before picking a bondsman: the county's local bail bond market had its own scandal recently when the Sheriff's Office arrested the operator of a local bonding company on felony charges after finding over 20 stolen firearms along with methamphetamine and cocaine during a search of her residence — she ended up held in the same jail her own clients used, with bond set north of $170,000. It's a real reminder to stick with well-established, thoroughly vetted local agencies rather than whoever answers the phone fastest at 2 a.m.

Court

Misdemeanor DWI runs through the Upshur County Court under Judge Todd Tefteller; felony cases go to the 115th District Court, covering both Upshur and Marion counties, under Judge Dean Fowler. The County Clerk's office closes for lunch from noon to 1 p.m. Monday through Thursday and shuts down entirely at 1 p.m. on Fridays — planning around that schedule matters if court costs or filings are time-sensitive. Arriving 30-45 minutes before a docket call is essential; tardiness reads as disrespect to Texas judges and can trigger a bond revocation on the spot. The local legal community here is small and tight-knit, and defense attorneys consistently emphasize that visible contrition and strict bond compliance carry real weight when negotiating with prosecutors who see the same defendants and attorneys repeatedly.

Pre-Trial Diversion is available through the District Attorney's office (currently Barry Wallace) for genuine first-time, low-risk offenders with no collision and a BAC under a specific threshold, but it requires an upfront admission of guilt as part of the contract. There's no dedicated DWI or SOBER court in Upshur County — cases stay on the standard docket.

The License Suspension Clock

A refused or failed test (0.08% or higher) means the license gets confiscated on the spot, with a DIC-25 notice serving as a temporary permit. There are exactly 15 days to request an ALR hearing — miss it, and the suspension activates automatically on day 40. Filing by fax to the DPS ALR line generates an immediate time-stamped receipt, a safer bet than relying on standard mail given how strictly the deadline is enforced. One detail worth knowing: because Upshur County has an active ICE task force partnership through the Sheriff's Office, an undocumented defendant faces the added risk of an ICE detainer during booking on top of the standard DWI process, which can block a normal bond-out entirely.

Compliance and Local Resources

Intoxalock operates directly out of WebbWorks in Gilmer, making it the most convenient option since it's the same facility handling the impound lot, with a second location in White Oak for residents commuting toward Longview. SCRAM continuous monitoring, when ordered, runs through a regional provider covering the broader East Texas/Dallas corridor, usually coordinated directly through a probation officer rather than a standalone local office.

The state-mandated 12-hour DWI education course is available locally through a regional council serving the area, run over three consecutive class sessions with strict no-tardy attendance rules — missing part of one session means restarting the entire program and paying the registration fee again. The same organization handles substance abuse evaluations for anyone facing a court-ordered assessment, and AA/NA meetings are available locally in Gilmer and the greater Longview area for court-mandated attendance.

Sources

• 115th District Court
• State Commission on Judicial Conduct: Public Warning, Jerald Dean Fowler II
• TDLR VSF Fees and Other Charges
• Texas DPS Administrative License Revocation Program
• Upshur County Sheriff's Office