Frisco Criminal Defense Lawyer for Collin and Denton County Cases

Frisco crosses a county line, and that line decides more about your case than the charge does. The east and center of the city sit in Collin County, so an arrest there is prosecuted by the Collin County District Attorney and heard at the courthouse complex in McKinney. The west side sits in Denton County, and a filing there generally goes to the Denton County courts; confirm the county and court from your paperwork. Kent Starr has been licensed in Texas and trying criminal cases since 1997, including in the Collin County courts. His office is in McKinney, and he handles the Denton County side of Frisco as well.

Which county has your case

The Frisco Police Department patrols the whole city, so the arresting agency does not tell you which county has your case. The place where the alleged offense happened does. Roughly speaking, the far west side of Frisco toward Little Elm and Lewisville Lake is Denton County. Nothing on the road marks the line.

The county decides the prosecutor, the judge, the jail, and the bond schedule. Your bond paperwork or booking record names the county. If it is unclear, bring what you have and Kent will read it.

Anything Class B or above, from a first DWI to a felony, files with the county.

How a Frisco arrest moves

An arrest on the Collin County side is booked into the Collin County Detention Facility at 4300 Community Avenue in McKinney. An arrest on the Denton County side goes to the Denton County jail in Denton. Either way, Code of Criminal Procedure art. 15.17 requires a magistrate to see you no later than 48 hours after arrest. The magistrate sets bond and, in a family violence case, can sign an emergency protective order before you walk out. The Collin County jail and bond page walks through those first 72 hours in McKinney.

Once bond is posted, the case waits for the district attorney to file. A misdemeanor files by information in a county court at law. A felony goes to a grand jury first and, if indicted, to a district court. That quiet stretch is when the defense should be pulling the body camera footage and the witness statements, while people still remember what happened. The Collin County criminal defense page explains how a case from the Collin side of Frisco moves through the McKinney courts from there.

Frisco DWI

The Dallas North Tollway, the Sam Rayburn Tollway (SH 121), Preston Road, and Main Street are where Frisco DWI stops happen, including on event nights at The Star and Frisco Square. A game at The Star on Cowboys Way or Toyota Stadium, a show at the Comerica Center, or a night at the bars around Frisco Square puts a crowd on the same few roads at the same hour.

A first DWI under Penal Code §49.04 is ordinarily a Class B misdemeanor, or Class A if a breath or blood specimen shows 0.15 or more. A third DWI is a third-degree felony under §49.09(b). On a second or later DWI, Code of Criminal Procedure art. 17.441 makes an ignition interlock a condition of bond unless the judge finds a reason to waive it.

The criminal case is only half of it. The Administrative License Revocation runs on its own track under Transportation Code Chapters 524 and 724. If an officer serves you a suspension notice, DPS must receive your hearing request within 15 days. If DPS mails the notice, the deadline is 20 days from mailing. Check the notice and mailing date promptly with a lawyer. The hearing is conducted by the State Office of Administrative Hearings. A timely request pauses this ALR suspension until the administrative judge's final decision. The ALR hearing does not decide the criminal charge. The Frisco DWI page and the DWI practice page go deeper on breath, blood, and field sobriety evidence.

Frisco drug charges

A Frisco drug case can begin with a traffic stop on the Tollway or SH 121, or a parking lot contact at Stonebriar Centre. The case can turn on the search, and the body camera shows how the officer got from a taillight to the console.

Texas grades drug possession by penalty group and weight under the Health and Safety Code. Marijuana under two ounces is a Class B misdemeanor under §481.121. A THC vape cartridge is not marijuana under Texas law. Concentrated THC falls in Penalty Group 2, and possession of under one gram is a state jail felony under §481.116. Cocaine, methamphetamine, and oxycodone without a prescription are Penalty Group 1, and under one gram is a state jail felony under §481.115. The drug crimes page covers penalty groups, lab timing, and the search issues that matter in these cases.

Frisco assault and family violence

A 911 call from a house in Frisco can end with someone leaving in handcuffs. Assault causing bodily injury under Penal Code §22.01(a)(1) is ordinarily a Class A misdemeanor. If the other person is a family or household member or a dating partner as defined in Family Code §§71.0021, 71.003, and 71.005, the case carries a family violence finding. The magistrate can then issue an emergency protective order under Code of Criminal Procedure art. 17.292 that can keep you out of your own home for 61 to 91 days, or 91 to 121 days when a deadly weapon was used or exhibited.

The finding outlasts the case. A family violence conviction bars firearm possession under federal law. A family violence finding, even on deferred adjudication, can make a later assault charge a third-degree felony under Penal Code §22.01(b)(2) once the State proves the prior. An allegation of choking or impeding breath is a third-degree felony on the first accusation under §22.01(b)(2)(B). The other person cannot drop the charge. What the defense can do is get the full recording and the text messages in front of the prosecutor early, before the case is set for trial. The assault and family violence page covers the finding, the protective order, and how these cases move.

Sex-Offense Charges in Frisco

Sex-offense allegations involving Frisco residents can begin the same way other criminal matters do: a detective's call, a knock at the door, or a warrant. The county line still matters. Allegations arising on the Collin County side of the city are generally prosecuted by the Collin County District Attorney and heard in McKinney; matters arising on the Denton County side generally proceed through Denton County. The sex crimes defense page walks through the courts, registration consequences, and the issues an early defense review may address. Charges in this group include sexual assault, indecency with a child, online solicitation of a minor, and child pornography. Each has its own statute, potential consequences, and early considerations. Kent Starr handles these cases from his McKinney office and takes every consultation himself. Free and confidential: (214) 982-1408.

One lawyer for the whole case

Kent is a solo practitioner. The lawyer you hire is the lawyer at every setting and at trial. He speaks Spanish and Portuguese in addition to English. He also represents Frisco clients on theft charges, weapons charges, sex crime allegations, and federal charges in the Eastern District of Texas.

If you have been arrested in Frisco, or a detective has called about a case that has not been filed yet, call (214) 982-1408 or send a confidential message. The office answers 9 AM to 5 PM seven days a week. The consultation is free and Kent conducts it himself.

Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Every case is evaluated on its own facts.

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