Carla Wyatt Arrested And Charged On Allegations Of Burglary
Harris County Treasurer Carla Wyatt, the first African American elected to hold the position, was arrested over the weekend and charged with a misdemeanor count of burglary of a motor vehicle following allegations she broke into a vehicle, according to several reports.
Court records obtained by the Houston Chronicle show Wyatt, a Democrat who was elected county treasurer in 2022, was arrested shortly after noon on Dec. 27. The charge stems from an incident involving a vehicle owned by Aura Tamayac. Authorities claimed Wyatt entered the vehicle, allegedly with the intent to commit burglary, though court documents do not clearly outline what led up to the incident.
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ABC13 reported that investigators say Wyatt was in a parking lot along Washington Avenue when she opened the unlocked door of a Toyota minivan and entered the vehicle. The vehicle’s owner and witnesses contacted police.
Carla Wyatt denied wrongdoing and was released on bond after the incident.
According to investigators, Wyatt denied any wrongdoing and told officers she had permission to be inside the vehicle. The owner, however, told police she did not know Wyatt and did not grant permission.
Wyatt was released on bond Dec. 28 and is scheduled to appear in Harris County criminal court Friday morning. As of Tuesday, Wyatt had not issued a public statement regarding the arrest, but the Harris County District Attorney’s Office had this to say regarding the allegations against Wyatt:
“We are aware that Carla Wyatt was arrested and charged with burglary of a motor vehicle. As this case is pending, our office will not comment further on the details of the investigation,” the office shared in a statement to ABC 13. “What we can say is this: the pursuit of justice in Harris County is guided by the law and evidence, not by political affiliation, public office, or party ties. No one is above the law. No one is exempt from accountability. Our responsibility is, and always will be, to the people in this community.”
Wyatt had over 20 years of public service before her historic election.
Wyatt, who holds a bachelor’s degree in science, a master’s degree in biology, and a Ph.D. in environmental toxicology from Texas Southern University, has spent more than two decades in public service. Her career includes roles at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Trees for Houston, and multiple Harris County departments. She also helped oversee emergency communications during Hurricane Harvey and has served on several community and nonprofit boards, according to the Harris County, Texas website.
Before she was elected county treasurer, Wyatt was active in civic and professional organizations, including Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc. and the Texas Southern University Alumni Association.
Following her historic election in 2022, Wyatt spoke with Fox 26 about her goals for the office. She said one of her priorities upon stepping into the Harris County treasurer position was to increase transparency within the tax system and to “paint a better picture” of where community tax dollars are going by bringing together finance and technology. Wyatt also highlighted the importance of youth internships as a pathway to career success.
“Every program that I’ve worked in Harris County, I’ve created an internship program because I came in as an intern in the El Franco Lee internship program via Sylvia Garcia. Sylvia got my resume, and she gave it to El Franco Lee, and I became an El Franco Lee intern in the Public Infrastructure Department. I had the privilege of working for Harris County Toll Road, Flood Control, Right of Way, Construction, Engineering, became a communications expert working all the hurricanes…so I learned a lot.”
She added, “People can make a judgment about you just by looking at you, but you have to decide what you’d like to do and who you’d like to be, and if you fall, it’s OK, just get up and try again.”
This isn’t the first time Wyatt has encountered trouble with the law. Court records obtained by the Houston Chronicle and Click2Houston also show Wyatt was previously arrested in 2023 on a charge of driving while intoxicated (DUI). Prosecutors alleged her blood alcohol concentration was at least 0.15.
Then, in 2024, court documents indicate she violated bond conditions twice — once in January 2024 for failing to install an ignition interlock device and later in March 2024 for registering a reading above the allowed limit on the device. That charge was ultimately dismissed after Wyatt completed a pretrial diversion program.
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