Ron Reynolds
Ron Reynolds
A re-election celebration is underway in Pod 2 of the Montgomery County Jail after inmate number 232573 claimed victory in Texas House District 27. That inmate is known as Rep. Ron Reynolds, D-Missouri City, to the people on the outside.

Reynolds was booked into the county jail on Sept. 7. He's serving a year-long sentence after a 2015 conviction on five misdemeanor counts of using a middleman to chase ambulances in order to solicit clients for Reynolds' law firm.

After the 2015 conviction, a county judge handed down the jail sentence to the sitting lawmaker, but Reynolds spent the last three years appealing the conviction. Reynolds' law license was suspended on May 2, 2016.

Since the convictions were misdemeanors, Reynolds did not have to resign from office. Unless Reynolds' sentence is reduced, he will likely be sitting in a jail cell when the legislature reconvenes in January 2019. Reynolds could miss the entire first year of the 86th legislative session if he's not freed before Sept. 7, 2019.