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A shouting match between two Farmers Branch City Council members after a June 2 council meeting has produced a sworn ethics complaint, dueling accounts and a police report listing potential criminal offenses, but more than a month later, it remains unclear whether any criminal charges have actually been filed.
The police report, obtained by the Branch Herald through the Texas Public Information Act, identifies City Council Member Lupe Gonzalez as the suspect in a criminal investigation stemming from a June 2 confrontation with fellow City Council Member Elizabeth Villafranca at City Hall. It lists Gonzalez as the suspect in the investigation of two Class C misdemeanors, assault by threat and disorderly conduct involving abusive language.
Class C misdemeanors are the lowest-level criminal offenses under Texas law and are typically punishable only by a fine.
The six-page report contains only basic information because the city withheld the remainder of the investigative file, citing an attorney general previous determination allowing enforcement agencies to withhold records related to an open or pending criminal investigation.
The report’s summary states that Villafranca “reported that after city council meeting on June 2nd, 2026 that Lupe Gonzales had assaulted her by getting in her face and yelling profanities.” It states Villafranca told police she believed Gonzalez “was going to hit her” before Officer Eduardo Cervantes intervened. The report says the investigation was opened for assault by threat and disorderly conduct.
The Branch Herald repeatedly sought to determine whether the investigation remains open, was referred to prosecutors or municipal court, resulted in a citation or was closed without charges.
City officials have since referred all questions about the case in circles. City Manager Ben Williamson directed questions about the police investigation and any charges to the police department and the Farmers Branch Municipal Court.
A police department spokesperson sent the Branch Herald back to Williamson. The municipal court likewise referred questions back to Williamson, as well as to City Attorney David Berman, who did not return calls from the Branch Herald.
Gonzalez declined to comment on the matter.
Because no city official would answer whether charges were filed, the Branch Herald could not independently verify the disposition of the criminal investigation or find out the process that remains as far as an independent investigation into the June 8 ethics complaint filed by Villafranca against Gonzalez.
The city released the entire ethics complaint packet against Gonzalez last week, including Villafranca’s sworn complaint, Gonzalez’s response statement and the city attorney’s memo to the council.
The ethics complaint alleges Gonzalez violated provisions of the city’s Code of Ethics requiring elected officials to maintain high standards of integrity and prohibiting harassment and hostile conduct.
According to Villafranca's sworn complaint, the confrontation began after the council voted on who would serve as deputy mayor pro tem and mayor pro tem. Villafranca said she was speaking with City Attorney David Berman near the dais afterward when Gonzalez approached and said, "if you have something to say about me, you should say it to my face."
Villafranca's complaint states she responded calmly, telling Gonzalez, "you're doing exactly what they elected you to do," and added, "I hope you find your voice soon." She alleges Gonzalez then began yelling and using profanity in the council chambers, including telling her "f*** you," "I'll f*** you up," and "you do whatever the f*** he tells you to do," a remark Villafranca says was accompanied by a gesture toward Mayor Terry Lynne. Villafranca's complaint states Gonzalez came "within a few inches" of her face and that a police officer stepped in to physically restrain Gonzalez before, Villafranca wrote, she believed Gonzalez "was going to strike me."
Gonzalez has offered a starkly different account in a public letter distributed on Facebook. She wrote that Villafranca was "angry with the outcome" of the pro tem vote and, once the meeting ended, referred to colleagues including Gonzalez as "those jacka$$e$," before telling her she was doing "exactly what 'they' elected her to do." Gonzalez's letter says she initially "chose to ignore the comment" but eventually told Villafranca that "if she had something to say about me, she should say it to my face," a remark Gonzalez's letter characterizes as "brief" and made "after several insults and personal attacks."
Gonzalez wrote that Villafranca then "stormed" toward her "aggressively," coming close enough that Gonzalez "felt cornered, intimidated, and genuinely fearful," and that she yelled for Villafranca to "get away from me while regrettably using an expletive." Gonzalez's letter also states that Mayor Terry Lynne "physically inserted himself into the confrontation," stepped in front of her, "placed his hand on my chest, and pushed me backward." She wrote that a police officer ultimately "used his body and arms to create a shield" between her and the others.
That characterization of the mayor's involvement does not appear in the police report reviewed by the Branch Herald.
A separate written response filed in connection with the complaint, submitted under Gonzalez's name, opposing a formal outside investigation, argues the complaint contains "material omissions, factual inaccuracies, and speculative characterizations." The response lists ten specific objections, including that the complaint omits "Mayor Terry Lynne's involvement and intervention during the incident" and mischaracterizes Gonzalez's "demeanor, body language, and physical conduct." The response also argues that in a prior, unrelated ethics matter, the city declined to authorize an outside investigation despite what it describes as more substantial supporting evidence and urges the council to apply "the same evidentiary standard."
In a memorandum to the City Council, Berman wrote that his office does not “serve as an advocate for either party” and concluded that the complaint satisfied the city’s procedural requirements and, if the allegations were true, described conduct that “may be regarded by the council as a possible violation of the Code.” He emphasized that his report did not conclude an ethics violation had occurred but instead found that the allegations, if proven, could support one.
Gonzalez urged the council to reject the complaint, arguing there was "insufficient evidence to justify spending public funds on a formal investigation by outside counsel." She contended the complaint omitted key facts, mischaracterized the confrontation and treated her differently than previous ethics complaints involving council members.
Following executive session June 23, the council voted to authorize an outside investigation but did not determine whether Gonzalez violated the city's Code of Ethics.
The ethics investigation and the criminal investigation remain separate matters. While the City Council authorized an outside ethics investigation into Gonzalez's conduct, the status of the criminal investigation, however, remains unknown by the public.
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