Former Liberty County Fire Marshal William Hergemueller is now facing two additional criminal charges related to alleged violations of Texas motor fuel tax laws. These are charges brought forward by the Texas Comptroller’s Office.
According to booking records at the Liberty County Jail, Hergemueller has been charged with two counts of Violation of Motor Fuel Tax Requirements. The charges stem from allegations that on or around Dec. 19, 2022, during his time as chief of the now-defunct HWY 321 Volunteer Fire Department and Liberty County Hazardous Materials Team, he removed diesel fuel from wrecked vehicles and re-appropriated the fuel for use by the fire department and the hazmat team.
The new charges were filed by the Texas Comptroller’s Office. As of publication, bond has not been set.
These charges come months after Hergemueller and two former assistant fire marshals were indicted in May 2025 following a Texas Rangers investigation into alleged misconduct while in office.
Hergemueller was previously indicted on charges of theft and official oppression. A third charge, tampering or fabricating physical evidence with intent to impair, was no billed by the grand jury.
The theft charge alleges that on Oct. 24, 2023, Hergemueller unlawfully appropriated a bumper cover and two vehicle rims from Momentum Jaguar, with the value of the property estimated between $750 and $2,500. At the time, he was serving as Liberty County fire marshal and chief of the South Liberty County Hazardous Materials Team.
The official oppression charge stems from a February 2024 incident in which Hergemueller allegedly conducted a fire inspection in retaliation against an individual who refused to pay an invoice issued by the hazardous materials team. According to the indictment, the inspection was performed under the color of his official authority while knowing the action was unlawful.
Former assistant fire marshals Erskine “Nat” Holcomb and Jesse McGraw were also indicted in the May 2025 case. McGraw faces one count of tampering with a governmental record related to a March 20, 2024, daycare inspection in Hardin, which investigators allege he conducted without holding the required Texas Commission on Fire Protection license. A second charge against him was no billed.
Holcomb faces two indictments, one for theft and one for tampering with a governmental record. He is accused of falsifying information during an inspection at a Best Western hotel while not holding the proper state license. The theft charge against Holcomb is tied to the same auto parts cited in Hergemueller’s theft case.
All three men are no longer employed by Liberty County and were terminated in early 2025.
Wow- Liberty County is really shafting this guy.
If only y’all put this much effort into your county’s biggest scam, public safety threat and source of crime- Colony Ridge Development Co.
But no- let’s go after this old man instead.
Typical political prosecution.