CORPUS CHRISTI, Tx — Jessica Lorena Gonzalez, who has been serving as interim city secretary for the City of Taft, has been criminally charged with failing to respond to a public information request, according to court documents obtained by KRIS 6 News.
A summons issued by San Patricio County Court at Law shows Gonzalez is charged with "failure or refusal of officer for public information to provide access to or copying of public information."
The offense falls under Texas Government Code Section 552.353, which states that an officer for public information commits an offense if they fail or refuse to provide access to public information with criminal negligence.
According to the summons, Gonzalez was commanded to appear before the County Court at Law in Sinton, Texas on October 14, 2025, at 8:30 a.m. to answer to the charges brought by the State of Texas through San Patricio County Attorney Tamara Cochran-May.
The employment situation surrounding Gonzalez remains unclear. In August, she resigned from her position as Taft City Secretary but continued in the role on an interim basis. At the same time, she has also been serving as City Secretary for the City of Marion.
KRIS 6 News has reached out to the City of Taft and the Taft City Attorney to verify whether Gonzalez remains employed in an interim capacity, but officials declined to respond.
Taft City Attorney Thomas Gwosdz is representing Gonzalez, according to a handwritten note on the summons. KRIS 6 News also asked both Gwosdz and Taft City Manager Ryan Smith to respond to this charge and have asked if the city has taken any administrative action in response to this action.
In response to our inquiries, Gwosdz responded via email, "I'm sure you'll understand that the City can't comment on issues that are currently in litigation. The City believes that everyone, including employees, is innocent until proven guilty."
The Taft City Council has scheduled a special meeting for Thursday at 6:30 p.m. The meeting agenda includes approval of a resolution providing for legal representation in the defense or prosecution of an ex-employee, as well as an executive session item related to the employment of the City Secretary.
It is unclear if these agenda items are related to Gonzalez.
Under Texas law, the charge against Gonzalez includes several affirmative defenses, including reasonable reliance on a court order or attorney general opinion, a pending attorney general decision on the requested information, or filing a declaratory judgment petition within 10 days of an attorney general decision.
