City Councilmember Charged With Groping

MERKEL, TX – Councilman Michael Owen McLeod,69, turned himself on Tuesday on a charge of public lewdness after a woman accused him of grabbing her breasts and slapping her butt. McLeod is a current Merkel City Councilmember and former mayor of Merkel.

According to KTXS, on September 24th a woman told police that McLeod wrapped his arms around her and grabbed her breasts. The owner of the business where the incident allegedly occurred confirmed that she also saw McLeod slap the victim’s butt.

This is not the first time McLeod has been accused of inappropriate behavior against a female victim. KTXS reports that in 2018 a waitress at Velma’s Burritos accused McLeod of stalking her outside her home and proposition her for paid sex. 

Rayanne Martinez claimed McLeod would drive past her house and ask about people he saw outside. Martinez’s boss alleged she received phone calls from McLeod where he inquired if Martinez would be interested in going out with him. McLeod even caused a scene outside the restaurant after Martinez’s husband published a post on Facebook warning people of McLeod’s behavior.

Martinez declined to press charges and stated she just wanted a restraining order against McLeod. The Interim Police at the time, Chief Phillip Conklin, told local news media that after the department received a complaint regarding a councilmember, they forwarded the investigation to Texas Rangers, as is standard procedure. No information is available regarding the outcome of that investigation.

Regarding the current charges, Mayor Mary Schrampfer said it was “too early to say whether the city will take any action against McLeod” and first had to meet with City Manager Steve Campbell.

McLeod was released on a $1,000 bond.