The Colony Criminal Defense Lawyers
Direct-to-attorney criminal defense for The Colony arrests and Denton County criminal-court matters. Co-founders Reggie and Njeri London handle every retained case personally — from arraignment through trial or appeal — from our The Colony office, which is The Colony-based — Reggie and Njeri's home community.
L and L Law Group represents clients arrested in The Colony, Texas and clients facing charges in the Denton County Courts Building on the full Texas Penal Code and Health & Safety Code spectrum. Founding partners Reggie London (Texas Bar No. 24043514, former Dallas County Assistant District Attorney) and Njeri London (Texas Bar No. 24043266, admitted TXND, TXED, 5th Circuit) personally handle every The Colony matter. Our The Colony office is 7 miles southwest of our The Colony office (about 15 minutes). Free 24/7 consultation: (972) 370-5060.
Common The Colony criminal charges we defend
An unpaid ticket is not a small thing in The Colony, because the city runs its own jail. The 24-bed municipal detention facility was completed in May 2011 as an addition to the police department at 5151 N Colony Blvd, and the city states on its own Jail Division page that “subjects sitting out The Colony traffic fines are sometimes housed for two weeks or more at the discretion of the Municipal Court Judge.” That is the city describing its own practice, on matters punishable by fine only. Most people arrested here are held far more briefly, since within roughly 72 hours they either post bond or transfer to Denton County custody. The long stays belong to the people who did nothing about a Class C.
The fine you ignore is the one that costs the most
The Colony Municipal Court of Record sits at 5151 North Colony Blvd, the same building as the police department and the jail, and its number is 972-624-2200. Its window is narrow. Monday through Thursday it runs 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Friday it runs 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. only, and it closes every day from noon to 1:00 p.m. There is a drop box just inside the main entrance of the Police and Courts building for anything that has to be filed outside those hours.
The court publishes alternatives to paying a fine in full, and the whole value of knowing them is raising one before a case gets anywhere near the sitting-out stage:
- An extension of time to pay, which moves the deadline.
- A payment plan, which spreads the amount out.
- Community service in place of money.
- Waiver, which the court lists as an alternative to payment.
- Deferred disposition, offered on qualifying cases.
- A driving safety course, likewise on cases that qualify.
The last two bear on how a case is recorded rather than only on when it is paid. None is automatic. Each has to be asked for, and asking after a warrant has issued is a worse position than asking before.
Appeals here run on the record, not on a second try
The Colony’s municipal court is a court of record, and that single word changes the arithmetic of the first setting. In an ordinary Texas municipal court, a bad first outing is survivable, because the appeal takes the form of an entirely new trial in the county court. Out of a court of record, the appeal is decided on the appellate record rather than by trial de novo. Whatever was said, conceded, objected to or left out downstairs is the material a higher court reviews. That inverts the usual instinct about minor cases. The first setting here is not a rehearsal for a better one, it is the one that gets written down.
What stays in the city and what does not
The municipal court’s jurisdiction is limited to Class C misdemeanor offenses committed inside the city limits, whether the violation is of a municipal ordinance or of a state statute. It enforces the Texas Penal Code, the Transportation Code, the Alcoholic Beverage Code and the Health and Safety Code, which is a wider spread of law than a traffic-court reputation suggests. Alcohol and drug-related allegations reach that courtroom through the Alcoholic Beverage Code and the Health and Safety Code, not only moving violations through the Transportation Code. Anything above Class C leaves The Colony entirely.
Where it goes is not a question here, and that is worth saying plainly. The U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 place-to-county relationship file lists The Colony city exactly once, under Denton County. The city does not straddle a county line the way several of its neighbors do, so nobody has to work out which prosecutor received the file or which sheriff has custody of a relative.
| Level of the charge | Where it is heard | Where that is |
|---|---|---|
| Class C misdemeanor inside the city limits | The Colony Municipal Court of Record | 5151 North Colony Blvd, The Colony |
| Class A or Class B misdemeanor | One of Denton County’s five County Criminal Courts | County Criminal Court 3 sits at 1450 E McKinney Street, Suite 2400, Denton |
| Felony | The Denton County district courts | 1 Courthouse Drive, Denton |
The prosecutor on everything in the bottom two rows is the Denton County Criminal District Attorney’s Office, led by Criminal District Attorney Paul Johnson, at 1450 E McKinney Street, Suite 3100, Denton, 940-349-2600. Note the address. The district attorney and County Criminal Court 3 are in the same building at different suite numbers. That office runs an Intake Division, separate Felony and Misdemeanor Trial Divisions, a Child Abuse Prosecution Unit, a Domestic Violence Unit and a Protective Order Unit, so family violence matters are routed to dedicated units rather than a general docket. If bond is not posted at the city jail, custody moves to the Denton County Sheriff’s Office Law Enforcement Center at 127 N Woodrow Lane in Denton, under Sheriff Tracy Murphree.
The Denton County programs worth asking about early
Denton County publishes five specialized treatment court programs, and they are not interchangeable. The First Offender Drug Program diverts low-risk first-time drug offenders into a court-supervised program, and on completion the case is dismissed and the defendant becomes eligible for expunction. The Mental Health Treatment Court works along similar lines for defendants with a legitimate mental illness diagnosis, moving them out of the traditional process into rehabilitation alternatives, with dismissal and possible expunction at the end. Those two are the ones that can finish with nothing left on the record.
The other three are heavier commitments. Denton County Drug Court is a four-phase program with random drug testing, built for high-risk felony offenders with substance abuse issues. The DWI Treatment Court Program is for recidivist DWI offenders assessed at high risk of re-offending, and it requires supervised probation, intensive treatment, random testing and frequent court appearances. The Veterans Treatment Court Program is a three-phase rehabilitation program for veterans whose combat-related mental conditions contributed to the criminal charge, with record clearance on successful completion. Separately, the District Attorney’s Office lists a Pre-Trial Diversion Program among its programs.
Which of these is realistically open depends on the charge, the history, and how early somebody asks. Start with the charges we defend to find where your case sits, and if The Colony Police Department has contacted you about something that has not been filed yet, get advice before you respond.
The Colony criminal defense FAQs
Does The Colony run its own jail, or does everyone go to Denton County?
The Colony runs its own. The city operates a 24-bed municipal detention facility at 5151 N Colony Blvd, completed in May 2011 as an addition to the police department and staffed by nine detention officers and one detention supervisor providing round-the-clock coverage. The Jail Division line is 972-624-3944. People arrested here are booked, arraigned and held at that facility until they post bail or transfer to Denton County custody, which typically happens within about 72 hours. So the first call after an arrest in The Colony is usually to a city number rather than a county one.
How long can The Colony hold someone who is sitting out a fine?
Longer than most people expect. The city states on its Jail Division page that “subjects sitting out The Colony traffic fines are sometimes housed for two weeks or more at the discretion of the Municipal Court Judge.” That is the city’s own description of its own practice, and it concerns matters punishable by fine only. Set it against the roughly 72 hours a typical arrestee spends there before bonding out or transferring to Denton County. The length is discretionary with the judge, which is exactly why the fine is worth addressing before it ever reaches that stage.
I cannot pay a The Colony fine in full. What else will the court consider?
The Colony Municipal Court publishes alternatives to full payment: an extension of time to pay, a payment plan, community service, or waiver. It also offers deferred disposition and a driving safety course. Those last two reach how the case is recorded, not just when it is paid. None of them is automatic and each has to be raised with the court. The court is at 5151 North Colony Blvd, 972-624-2200, open Monday through Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Friday mornings only until 11:30 a.m., closed daily from noon to 1:00 p.m.
What does it mean that The Colony Municipal Court is a court of record?
It changes what an appeal actually is. The Colony Municipal Court is a Municipal Court of Record, so an appeal is decided on the appellate record made in the municipal court rather than by a new trial de novo in the county court. In most small-city municipal courts the opposite holds and a poor first outing can be redone from scratch. Here it cannot. What was said, what was objected to, and what was genuinely put into evidence at that first setting is the whole of what a reviewing court will have in front of it.
Is any part of The Colony in Collin County?
No. The U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 place-to-county relationship file lists The Colony city under Denton County and nowhere else. That is a real convenience, because several cities nearby sit across a county line and their residents have to establish which prosecutor received the file and which sheriff has custody before they can take a single useful step. In The Colony there is no such question. Every case that leaves the municipal court is filed in Denton County, prosecuted by the Denton County Criminal District Attorney’s Office, and heard in a Denton County courtroom.
What can The Colony Municipal Court decide, and what has to leave the city?
Its jurisdiction covers Class C misdemeanor offenses that occurred inside the city limits, whether the violation is of a municipal ordinance or of a state statute. The court enforces the Texas Penal Code, the Transportation Code, the Alcoholic Beverage Code and the Health and Safety Code, so its docket runs well past traffic. What it cannot do is take anything above Class C. A Class A or Class B misdemeanor goes to one of Denton County’s five County Criminal Courts, and a felony goes to the Denton County district courts at 1 Courthouse Drive in Denton.
More The Colony questions
Where does my case go once it leaves The Colony?
To Denton County, and to one of two destinations within it. Misdemeanors above Class C are heard in Denton County’s five County Criminal Courts; County Criminal Court 3 sits at 1450 E McKinney Street, Suite 2400 in Denton, 940-349-2180. Felonies go to the Denton County district courts at 1 Courthouse Drive. Prosecution passes to the Denton County Criminal District Attorney’s Office at 1450 E McKinney Street, Suite 3100, 940-349-2600, under Criminal District Attorney Paul Johnson. If bond is not posted, custody moves from the city jail to the Sheriff’s Law Enforcement Center at 127 N Woodrow Lane.
Does Denton County have diversion that can end with a clean record?
Two of its programs are built that way. The First Offender Drug Program diverts low-risk first-time drug offenders into a court-supervised program, and on completion the case is dismissed and the defendant becomes eligible for expunction. The Mental Health Treatment Court diverts defendants with a legitimate mental illness diagnosis into rehabilitation alternatives, also ending in dismissal with possible expunction. The Veterans Treatment Court Program provides record clearance on successful completion. The District Attorney’s Office separately lists a Pre-Trial Diversion Program. Which endings actually clear a record is its own question, and our Texas expunction and record-clearing page works through it.
I already have a DWI. What changes on a second one out of The Colony?
The county programs change shape. Denton County runs a DWI Treatment Court Program aimed specifically at recidivist DWI offenders assessed at high risk of re-offending, and it is a demanding path rather than a lenient one: supervised probation, intensive treatment, random testing and frequent court appearances. It is not the only route available and it is not a fit for everyone assessed into it. Because a DWI above Class C never stays in The Colony, that decision gets made in Denton County. Our page on a Texas DWI charge explains what is in play.
I am a veteran charged out of The Colony. Is there a program for that?
Denton County runs a Veterans Treatment Court Program, a three-phase rehabilitation program for veterans whose combat-related mental conditions contributed to the criminal charge, with record clearance on successful completion. The county separately operates a Mental Health Treatment Court for defendants with a legitimate mental illness diagnosis, which diverts them out of the traditional criminal justice process and can end in dismissal and possible expunction. Which one fits turns on the diagnosis and its documented connection to the charge, so gathering service and treatment records early tends to matter more than anything said at a first setting.
Does The Colony police department's accreditation matter to my case?
It can. The Colony Police Department holds “Recognized” status under the Texas Police Chiefs Association voluntary accreditation program, based on compliance with Texas Law Enforcement Best Practices. Accredited agencies maintain written policy and documentation standards, and those policies and records are discoverable in a criminal case. That gives a defense something concrete to measure a stop, a search, a booking or the handling of evidence against. The same logic reaches the jail, where the city states its detention officers receive the same basic detention officer training that a detention officer at a county facility would receive.
Why does The Colony have a police division assigned just to Grandscape?
Because the city built one. The Colony Police Department maintains a dedicated Grandscape Division, a standing patrol division assigned specifically to the Grandscape district, deploying officers there on foot, on bicycles and in marked vehicles. Very few cities this size give an entire patrol division to a single commercial and entertainment district. In practice it means officers who are already on scene rather than dispatched to it, and encounters that begin as an observation instead of a call. The department also fields a separate Traffic Division and a Collision Investigation Team.
Arrested in The Colony?
Free, confidential consultation — direct to attorney, 24/7. We pick up jail-release calls at all hours.
Call (972) 370-5060Why a The Colony charge is heard in Denton, not in town
A The Colony case lives in Denton County, which sets where it goes. Unlike a county seat, the city does not host the courthouse that hears its serious charges — those travel to the Denton County courts in Denton. Felonies and Class A and B misdemeanors are filed there by the Denton County Criminal District Attorney, and anyone booked in is held at the Denton County Jail. So a stop on SH-121 or near Grandscape may happen in The Colony, but the file, the bond, and the court dates all sit in the county seat a drive up the highway. Knowing that the matter moves to Denton from the outset shapes how we plan the first appearance.
Not every The Colony case leaves the city, though. The Colony Municipal Court keeps the Class C, fine-only matters — traffic citations, city-ordinance violations, and similar tickets — and resolves them here in town, separately from anything heading to Denton. That line matters because it decides which building you answer to and what is actually at stake. A speeding ticket from FM-423 and a Class B charge from the same corridor follow different tracks entirely: one stays local and fine-only, the other becomes a county case with jail exposure and a record that can follow you. We sort which court a charge belongs to before anything else, since that answer drives every step that comes after.
Enforcement here tends to cluster where the traffic does. SH-121 carries commuters across the north side of the city, FM-423 feeds the retail strip, and the roads along Lewisville Lake fill on weekends and warm evenings — all of which makes DWI and traffic stops a recurring local pattern. The pull of Grandscape and the Nebraska Furniture Mart adds steady visitor and shopping traffic on top of the lake crowd, and a night out on the water can turn into a roadside stop on the way home. We pay attention to how a particular stop unfolded along these corridors, because the reason an officer gave for the stop and what happened next often shape the strongest part of a defense.
For someone charged in The Colony, the practical takeaway is to know the destination early. A fine-only citation can be handled at the municipal court in the city, but a felony or Class A or B misdemeanor means preparing for Denton — its jail, its district attorney, and its docket. Our team works both tracks and lines up the right approach for whichever court holds the file. If you are facing a charge out of The Colony, you can reach us at (972) 370-5060 to talk through where your case is headed and what the next step looks like.
About the Authors
Criminal Charges We Defend in The Colony
L&L Law Group represents clients throughout The Colony and Denton County against the full range of Texas criminal charges. These are the charges our defense team handles most often — or call (972) 370-5060 for a free, confidential consultation.