Nico LaHood
{{Short description|American attorney (born 1972)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2019}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Nicolas "Nico" LaHood
| image =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1972|9|16}}
| birth_place = San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
| party = Independent
|otherparty = Democratic (until 2018)
| education = St. Mary's University
| occupation = Former Bexar County Criminal District Attorney, Attorney, Former Magistrate Judge
| known_for =
}}
Nicolas "Nico" Anthony LaHood (born September 16, 1972) is a former criminal district attorney of Bexar County, Texas.
Early life and education
LaHood was born on September 16, 1972, to Judge Michael Thomas LaHood Sr. and Norma Olivia (née Mendiola){{cite web|title=Nicholas Anthony Lahood|url=https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VDRF-WW1|website=Family Search|publisher=The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|accessdate=31 October 2014}} in San Antonio, Texas.{{cite web|title=Nico Lahood|url=https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KPLJ-1HZ|website=Family Search|publisher=The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|accessdate=31 October 2014}}
While in his third year at San Antonio College in 1994, LaHood was arrested for attempting to sell ecstasy pills worth $3,600, with a firearm to an undercover police officer at a strip club. He entered into a plea bargain in August 1994 and was given deferred adjudication and probation.
LaHood graduated from St. Mary's University in 1999 and then law school in 2002.{{cite news|last1=Padilla|first1=Gloria|title=Unlawful past may hurt district attorney bid|url=http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/article/Unlawful-past-may-hurt-district-attorney-bid-789407.php|accessdate=2015-09-06|work=San Antonio Express-News|date=2010-05-15}}
Career
LaHood ran for district attorney in 2010, but narrowly lost to Susan Reed. Controversies that contributed to his loss included his age, past drug arrest, and firearm charges. After the election, LaHood had already decided to run again in 2014. In the 2014 Democratic primaries for the District Attorney race, LaHood faced off against Therese Huntzinger. LaHood narrowly beat his opponent: LaHood received 20,413 votes, just 47 more than Huntzinger's 20,366.{{Cite web |date=4 March 2014 |title=Bexar County, Texas, Primary Election. OFFICIAL RESULTS. |url=https://www.bexar.org/DocumentCenter/View/7436/March-4-2014-Media-Report |access-date=29 March 2024 |website=www.bexar.org}} In the 2014 election for District Attorney, LaHood defeated Susan Reed, the incumbent. LaHood was sworn in as the new DA on January 1, 2015.{{cite web|url=http://www.kens5.com/story/news/politics/2015/01/01/changing-of-the-guard-lahood-takes-office-as-bexar-co-da/21172711/|title=Changing of the guard: LaHood takes office as Bexar Co. DA}}
In 2017, state district judge Lori Valenzuela testified that LaHood had threatened the careers of two defense attorneys if they brought up an affair between a prosecutor in his office and a key witness for the prosecution in a murder case. Judge Valenzuela, who presided over the case, testified under oath that she had witnessed the threats made in her chambers. LaHood also testified, denying that he had made a threat.{{cite web|author=Jennifer Emily|url=https://www.dallasnews.com/news/courts/2017/04/13/judge-da-threatened-defense-attorneys-careersif-brought-sexual-relationship-prosecutor-witness|title=Judge: DA threatened attorneys' jobs if they mentioned prosecutor's sexual relationship with witness|newspaper=Dallas Morning News}}{{cite web|url=http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/Judge-backs-lawyers-claim-that-D-A-in-San-11068858.php|newspaper=San Antonio Express-News|title=Judge backs lawyers' claim that D.A. in San Antonio made threats in her chambers|date=April 13, 2017}}
LaHood has promoted the unfounded conspiracy theory that vaccines are linked to autism. In a statement videotaped in his office for the anti-vaccine film Vaxxed, Lahood asserted that vaccines "can and do cause autism,"{{cite news|last1=Chasnoff|first1=Brian|title=LaHood prone to conspiracy theories|url=http://www.expressnews.com/news/news_columnists/brian_chasnoff/article/LaHood-prone-to-conspiracy-theories-9196291.php|accessdate=31 October 2016|publisher=Express News|date=31 Aug 2016}}{{cite news|last1=Chasnoff|first1=Brian|title=Bexar County District Attorney Nico LaHood: 'Vaccinations can and do cause autism'|url=http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/Bexar-County-District-Attorney-Nico-LaHood-9190563.php|accessdate=31 October 2016|newspaper=San Antonio Express-News|date=29 Aug 2016}}Brian Chasnoff, [http://www.expressnews.com/news/news_columnists/brian_chasnoff/article/LaHood-I-know-the-truth-about-vaccines-and-9191602.php "LaHood: I 'know the truth' about vaccines and autism"], San Antonio Express-News (August 29, 2016). LaHood repeated these claims in testimony to a Texas House committee. LaHood also stated that Islam is a "horrifically violent" religion.
On March 6, 2018, LaHood lost the Democratic primary for district attorney to Joe Gonzales by more than 18 percentage points.{{Cite web |date=6 March 2018 |title=BEXAR COUNTY, TEXAS. JOINT PRIMARY ELECTION. UNOFFICIAL RESULTS. |url=https://www.bexar.org/DocumentCenter/View/15083/March-6-2018-Media-Report |access-date=29 March 2024 |website=www.bexar.org}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/politics/article/Nico-Lahood-Joe-Gonzales-Bexar-County-District-12733044.php |title=LaHood admits defeat in District Attorney's race against Gonzales |last=Buch |first=Jason |date=2018-03-06 |website=San Antonio Express News |access-date=2018-03-07}}
In September 2018, LaHood announced he was leaving the Democratic party, saying "leftists have taken over".[https://web.archive.org/web/20180919061958/https://www.ktsa.com/lahood-leaves-democratic-party-leftists-have-taken-over/ Lahood Leaves Democratic Party Leftists Have Taken Over]
Personal life
LaHood married Davida Gil on July 8, 2006. They have four children together.
On August 15, 1996, LaHood's brother Michael LaHood Jr.{{cite web |last1=Texas Death Index, 1964-1998 |first1= |title=Michael Thomas La Hood Jr |url=https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/JVPF-DN5 |accessdate=31 October 2014 |website=FamilySearch |publisher=Bexar, Texas, United States, Department of State Health Services, Austin}} was murdered in the driveway of his parents' house after a failed robbery. The triggerman Mauriceo Mashawn Brown, along with three other men, was later caught and tried. Under the Texas law of parties, not only Mauriceo Mashawn Brown, but also the driver of the car that carried Brown, Kenneth Foster Jr., was tried for capital murder, and in May 1997 both were sentenced to death. In July 2006, Mauriceo Brown was executed for the crime by lethal injection. On August 31, 2007, Foster's death sentence was commuted by Governor Rick Perry.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/31/us/31execute.html?mcubz=0|title=Governor Commutes Sentence in Texas|newspaper=The New York Times|date=August 31, 2007|last1=Blumenthal|first1=Ralph}}[http://www.valleymorningstar.com/news/latest_news/article_7d84030a-7ec1-5125-b88d-df3f25475b10.html Latest News] {{Dead link|date=February 2022}}{{Cite web|url=https://mylifeofcrime.wordpress.com/2015/07/02/michael-t-lahood-jr-murder-8151996-san-antonio-tx-mauriceo-mashawn-brown-executed-2-others-sentenced-to-life-in-prison/|title = Michael T. LaHood Jr. Murder 8/15/1996 San Antonio, TX *Mauriceo Mashawn Brown executed, 2 others sentenced to life in prison|date = July 2, 2015}}{{Cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=3475381&page=1|title = He Didn't Kill, but He Will be Executed|website = ABC News}}
References
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