A Montgomery County Precinct 3 deputy constable has been cleared of violating a Woodlands family's Fourth Amendment rights after he walked into their open garage uninvited last August.
The deputy, identified as Sgt. David Weis, had gone to Christian and Masha Doyle's home on Frontera Circle to serve a notice to appear in a contested eviction case, according to Click2Houston. Rather than waiting at the front door, Weis entered the garage while the family was heading to answer his knock, the station reports. The eviction case itself was later dismissed.
Cell phone video of the encounter shows Weis defending his decision to step inside. He told the family the trespassing sign posted on the property did not apply to law enforcement, and separately said the open garage was, in his words, open to the public, per the same report. Court records cited by the station show Weis also wrote in his civil service process notes that the homeowner was not cooperative and had told him he was trespassing, and that he claimed he was standing near the family's fan to cool off.
Family Says a 49-Year Veteran Should Have Known Better
Weis has held an active Texas peace officer license since 1977 — nearly 49 years of law enforcement experience at the time of the incident. Christian and Masha Doyle told KPRC 2 News in September that they felt Weis violated their rights, with Christian Doyle describing the situation as extremely tyrannical and noting this was not a first-year rookie cop making the entry.
Attorney Courtney Vincent, who reviewed the cell phone video, said Weis had no right to enter the garage given that there were no exigent circumstances present. That assessment lines up with established Fourth Amendment law: the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8-1 in Collins v. Virginia that the automobile exception does not let officers enter a home or its curtilage — including an attached garage or driveway — without a warrant, according to Justia.
Internal Affairs Review Focused on Camera, Not Curtilage
Precinct 3's internal affairs investigation opened September 1 after the Doyles complained. The office said it was reviewing the encounter, the participants' actions and available documentation.
The cited version of Texas Occupations Code § 1701.655 set out a body-camera recording requirement through an agency's policy and allowed deactivation in compliance with that policy; that version was repealed effective January 1, 2025, according to Texas statute records.
Doyles Escalate to Federal and State Complaints
The Doyles filed formal administrative and misconduct complaints with the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, and the Precinct 3 Constable's Office.
The episode adds to a string of conduct questions facing Precinct 3 this year. In May 2026, a separate deputy constable in the office, Louis Norman, was arrested and charged with a felony count of misuse of official information for allegedly accessing confidential crime databases for personal use, as Hoodline reported at the time. The episode raises broader questions about training and oversight inside the agency, even as Weis himself has been cleared of the core civil rights allegation.
