PERSON: Audrey Gossett Louis

81st Judicial District (Texas)

District Attorney

Audrey Louis was sworn in as the District Attorney for the 81st Judicial District in January, 2017. As the top prosecutor for the District, Louis is responsible for overseeing all felony and specialized misdemeanor prosecutions for the 5 counties that make up the 81st Judicial District: Atascosa, Frio, Karnes, LaSalle and Wilson. Lous’ office covers over 5400 square miles within the District.

Audrey and her husband moved to San Antonio in 2003. While her husband attended the Physician Assistant School at the University of Texas Health Science Center, she served as a White Collar Felony Prosecutor in Bexar County. During this time she successfully prosecuted crimes committed by public officials, and financial crimes against both citizens and small businesses, including securing a 14-year prison sentence for a lawyer stealing from a client. Audrey also worked to successfully prosecute sexual crimes against children while in Bexar County. In 2005, Audrey was hired as a Special Assistant United States Attorney designated to prosecute complex healthcare fraud cases, where she successfully tried a medical equipment business owner for defrauding the government.

In 2008, Audrey was hired as Assistant District Attorney for Karnes and Wilson Counties. Since that time, Audrey has been the lead or co-counsel on many serious felony jury trials in Wilson, Atascosa, and Karnes Counties, including multiple murder cases, several aggravated sexual assault of children cases, aggravated assaults, and aggravated robbery. Audrey served as co-counsel in the Capital Murder trials of both Rigo Guerra and Destyn Frederick in LaSalle County. Audrey was also responsible for the 28-year prison sentence of Patsy Ritchey, who stole from the Greater Chamber of Commerce in La Vernia, and over $400,000 from Farmer’s Insurance Policyholders.

Audrey Louis has a successful trial record, trying numerous cases ranging from capital murder, aggravated sexual assault of a child, to fraud. As a federal prosecutor, Audrey was awarded the Health and Human Services Integrity Award for her success as a federal health care fraud prosecutor. Over the last seven years as an Assistant District Attorney with the 81st Judicial District, Audrey has provided extensive training classes to all law enforcement agencies in her five county jurisdiction, and was recently certified as a Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Trainer.

Audrey’s passion is protecting sexually and physically abused children. She most recently spear-headed bringing CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) to Wilson and Karnes Counties by serving as the Steering Committee Chair. She currently serves as a Board Member for CASA of South Texas. In 2012, Audrey founded the Children’s Alliance of South Texas (CAST), a Child Advocacy Center which provides no cost services to children that have suffered abuse in Atascosa, Frio, Karnes, LaSalle, Wilson and other surrounding counties in South Texas. She has served on the Board of Directors since she founded it. In addition, Audrey received state-wide recognition for her work on the advocacy center when she was awarded the Children’s Advocacy Centers of Texas Volunteer of the Year in 2014.

— 81stda.org