Price Verdict Draws Strong Reactions From His Constituents

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DALLAS (CBS11) - Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price didn't waste anytime getting back to work after being found not guilty of seven counts of bribery and tax evasion during his corruption trial.

CBS11 caught up with him briefly leaving his office. He didn't have anything to say then, but now many of the people he serves are speaking out about the verdict.

After putting in some office hours, Price declined to comment as he got into his SUV outside the Dallas County Administration Building.

The drive out of the parking lot capped off a long day. In Price's district at Bob Davis Fish Market, many of his constituents welcomed the verdict.

"I was overwhelmed. I was just so glad that he was not convicted. I was just glad for him because I didn't believe all that stuff in the first place," longtime supporter Bonnie Jones said.

Jones expected the verdict after the jury spent more than a week deliberating, but throughout Price's district other supporters like Shenneice Moore weren't so sure.

"I knew that they were going to do two things, either lock him up being innocent or fold under pressure. They folded under pressure," Moore said.

The county's third district that Price has represented for more than 30 years is home to many who agreed with the verdict, like Karl Hollins who said the commissioner left a lasting impression on him at an early age when he was in juvenile detention.

"He came and visited us and watched us do a play, and he came and spoke, so that's how I met him personally," Hollins said.

But not everyone agrees.

"I really, honestly thought he was guilty," Hollins's wife, Myesha said.

Myesha Hollins had a mixed reaction to the verdict.

"I was kind of surprised but not really because I felt like, hey that's John Wiley Price. He got connections," Myesha Hollins said.

An attorney for Price tells CBS11 they will wait to comment until after the prosecution decides whether to retry the Commissioner on the four counts that resulted in mistrial.