JUDGE FIRES BACK AT COMPLAINING DA, BLAMES HIM FOR LIGHT SENTENCE

District Court Judge Castigates Galveston County DA Who Accused Her of Light Murder Sentence for Drug Dealer 

 

Submitted by Trey Rusk

 

Judge Patricia Grady (left), District Attorney Kenneth Cusick (right)

 

The district court judge whom Galveston County District Attorney Kenneth Cusick targeted for giving a 10-year deferred sentence to a drug dealer who pleaded guilty to murder unleashed a rarely seen rebuke in open court on Friday (3/20/2026). 

 

Judge Patricia Grady of the 212th District Court chided Cusick for a press conference he held on Thursday, accusing the judge of being too lenient when she sentenced Kamron Zaheri, 35, to the sentence, even though the defendant pleaded guilty to murder. 

 

During Zaheri’s formal sentencing on Friday, Grady accused Cusick of interfering with judicial independence. 

 

“You have sought to influence my ruling on the case prior to the final sentence being pronounced,” Grady said as she stared straight at Cusick, who was sitting in the courtroom gallery. 

 

“If Mr. Cusick is seeking extensive prison time, it would behoove him to advocate for such a penalty in a courtroom, rather than a press conference,” Grady said from the bench. “Mr. Cusick could have rolled up his sleeves and presented this case to a jury, arguing for stiff penalties, which he chose not to do.”

 

“Had he done this, a sentence of deferred adjudication would have been a legal impossibility.”

 

Zaheri was the first drug dealer to be tried in Galveston County for fentanyl murder under a 2023 Texas law that allows prosecutors to go after drug dealers for murder if the product they sell contains fentanyl and leads to a death. 

 

Zaheri pleaded guilty to selling Wade Potter a lethal amount of fentanyl just before Thanksgiving in 2023. 

 

“Minimal sentences for drug peddlers in this county are not going to be tolerated,” Cusick said during the press conference. 

 

Grady said Cusick also got many of the facts of the case wrong. 

 

“The record speaks for itself, and I strongly encourage anyone, including the district attorney and all who stood with him at his press conference, actually to read the record in its entirety,” Grady said. 

 

Grady also said that the case has multiple mitigating circumstances and that the district attorney's office never pressed for or recommended a tougher sentence. 

 

Transcripts obtained through an open records request show that the lead prosecutor never pressed the judge for a tougher sentence. 

 

One of the misstatements Cusick made, according to the evidence introduced in the case and the transcript, was that Potter was given heroin laced with fentanyl. 

 

In fact, evidence shows that Potter specifically requested a powder form of fentanyl. 

 

Evidence and testimony by Potter’s girlfriend confirmed that Potter had made threats to take his own life via overdose. 

 

When Potter’s body was found in his apartment, investigators also found pounds of other narcotics, including some that contained fentanyl. 

 

No evidence presented at trial specifically tied the fentanyl Potter got from Zaheri to the drugs that led to his death.

 

Zaheri’s defense attorney, Nicholas Poehl, said an autopsy found multiple types of narcotics in his system. Any of which could have resulted in a fatal overdose. 

 

“Moreover, (Cusick) has sought to undermine not only the integrity of this court but also its judicial independence,” Grady said before raising her voice. “Judicial independence isn't a slogan, but a constitutional guarantee and legal protection to keep judges free from pressure by politicians, prosecutors and public opinion.”

 

Cusick sat stoically in the gallery next to Galveston County Sheriff Jimmy Fullen and Pct. 4 Constable Justin West. Several members of the sheriff’s office command staff and deputy constables also packed the courtroom, even though the sheriff’s office was not the primary agency on the Zaheri case.

 

Texas City PD handled the investigation. 

 

Texas City Police Chief Landis Cravens and Assistant Chief Manual Johnson, who attended Thursday’s press conference, were not at the hearing on Friday. 

 

Grady continued to ridicule the press conference. 

 

“Mr. Cusick stated his intent was to ‘bring pressure to bear.’ Clearly, the strategy for ‘bringing pressure to bear’ upon me and this court was staging the Galveston County Sheriff, Chief of Police, Constables, and other law enforcement at a press conference,” Grady said. “Clearly, the intent is to unduly pressure this court and others into handing down sentences that the DA deems appropriate.

 

“The District Attorney has the unfettered right to a trial by jury, which he waived.” 

 

Once done Grady turned her attention back to sentencing and went ahead with the 10-years deferred adjudication after 180 days in jail. She reminded Zaheri that one slip up and she would revoke the sentence and he would face up go life in prison. 

 

After the sentencing hearing, Cusick insisted that when he said “bringing pressure to bear,” it was a reference to drug dealers and not the courts or judges.

  

He also maintained that the point of the press conference was to warn drug dealers and not challenge the court.