November 22 – The drama continues in the small hamlet of Hawk Cove. At least when it comes to Hawk Cove City Council.
Three members of the current council surrendered Thursday morning at the Hunt County Detention Center after the Texas Attorney General’s office issued arrest warrants for them.
Mayor Delores Marlow Spence and council members Mark Allen Beatte (Place Four) and Rebecca Lea Bernardi (Place One) were each charged with violating the state’s Open Meetings Act and one count of conspiracy to evade secret deliberation – both Class C felonies . Bail was set at $25,000 for each charge and each defendant.
The arrest warrants come after an investigation by the AG’s office into a November 2023 meeting.
On Tuesday, the three were also served with a civil notice after former Mayor Darren Evans and former Councilor Amanda Bodiford petitioned for the removal of 65-year-old Spence; Beatte, 66; and Bernardi, 59. Bodiford was defeated in the just-completed council elections earlier this month, losing to Sherry Logan.
It was only last May when a council meeting turned into a fight that ultimately ended with the arrest of five people; including then-Councilwoman Tiffany Dawn Browning, who was charged, among other things, with third-degree felony assault on a peace officer. She was charged in October.
