MONAHANS, TX — Former Monahans Police Chief Billy Riley has filed a petition in Ward County District Court seeking to remove 143rd District Attorney Sarah Stogner from office, alleging “incompetency and official misconduct” over her public statements and social media posts about marijuana use.
The filing, entered Oct. 21, 2025, before 143rd District Judge Alan Nichols, cites an online post in which Stogner admitted to purchasing marijuana in New Mexico and smoking it after returning to Texas.
The petition also references an August 2025 interview and multiple TikTok videos in which Stogner promoted marijuana decriminalization and said her office was not prosecuting certain possession cases. According to the document, Stogner’s comments “create policy for herself and under her control to refuse to prosecute a class or criminal offense of felony possession of marijuana or distribution thereof.”
In early August, San Angelo LIVE! reported that Stogner had posted a TikTok video showing herself lighting a joint as a protest against Senate Bill 5, a proposed Texas measure that would ban THC products. In the clip, Stogner said she legally purchased the marijuana in New Mexico and brought it back to Texas, calling her actions a form of civil disobedience.
“Went up to New Mexico, I purchased it legally with my Texas driver’s license and brought it back,” she said in the video. “I’m getting ready to smoke it.”
The post and her subsequent comments drew widespread attention and criticism. Under Texas law, county officials can be removed for “gross carelessness” or “gross ignorance” through a petition initiated by any resident.
Stogner acknowledged the filing Wednesday morning on X, writing, “And here it is. Former Monahans chief of police suing to remove me as DA. LFG. #txlege.”
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