Lahood’s brother to run for DA post

Marc Lahood, a local defense lawyer and younger brother of former Bexar County District Attorney Nico Lahood, is vying for the county’s top law enforcement post.

Lahood, a Republican, filed last week with the Texas Secretary of State’s Office to run for Bexar County district attorney.

He’ll face Meredith Chacon, a local defense lawyer and former prosecutor, in the Republican primary March 1. The deadline to enter the race was Monday.

The winner in that primary will face incumbent District Attorney Joe Gonzales in the November general election. Gonzales, who took office in 2019, did not draw a Democratic challenger.

Lahood, 43, is a partner at Lahood Law who specializes in criminal defense, family law and personal injury cases. His father, Michael, a former county court judge, practices law with him.

Lahood graduated from St. Mary’s University School of Law in 2007. He started a firm with another local lawyer, Chase Butler, in 2013. He opened his current firm in 2017.

His brother, Nico, was the Bexar County district attorney from 2015 to 2018. He gained national attention while in office for calling Islam “horrifically violent” and stating that vaccines “can and do cause autism” — a view proven false by scientific research — in a statement videotaped in his office for an anti-vaccine film.

The former DA also drew criticism for failing to report a business interest in a company owned by Gary Cain, who was subsequently convicted with former state Sen. Carlos Uresti for defrauding investors in a sand fracking company.