Dismissed felony charge against former Harris County prosecutor, Gabriel Kabak

A felony family-violence case against former Harris County prosecutor Gabriel Kabak was dismissed before it ever reached a grand jury, ending a charge that had already cost him his job in the Harris County district attorney’s office. Court records filed Tuesday, July 1, show Montgomery County prosecutors could not meet the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

Kabak, 32, was arrested Feb. 22 by the Panorama Village Police Department after officers responded to a disturbance at a children’s birthday party in Montgomery County. Kabak was intoxicated, pushed several attendees, argued with his girlfriend after she objected to him driving drunk, pushed her against the side of a house and grabbed her by the throat, leaving her briefly unable to breathe. He was booked into the Montgomery County Jail on a charge of family violence, impeding breath or circulation, commonly called strangulation, a third-degree felony. A magistrate set bond at $35,000.

Kabak had worked as an assistant district attorney in Harris County’s Special Victims Bureau and previously in the office’s domestic violence division during Kim Ogg’s final year as district attorney. Panorama Village Police Chief Chris Holcomb said Kabak identified himself as a Harris County prosecutor during the arrest and made additional unsolicited comments about his position. Within 24 hours, the Harris County District Attorney’s Office said Kabak was no longer employed there.

Kabak’s attorney, Shelby Burns, said at the time that the firing was premature and that her client had been defamed. After the dismissal, Burns said the outcome vindicated Kabak. Montgomery County prosecutors cited a lack of cooperation that limited the admissible evidence available to move the case forward.