Business owner Jessica Hopkins told Houston City Council on Nov. 5 that she was handcuffed, booked and held in county jail for roughly 12 hours after a health‑department visit related to a food‑dealer permit and an inspection of ice and beverage supplies at her Emancipation‑area business.

Hopkins said she had been told by a health inspector that certain items (ice, juice, cut lemons and limes) required a food‑dealer permit and that she had taken steps to comply. Hopkins said officers told her at the time of arrest that the Harris County assistant district attorney had "accepted the charges," yet she was released without court appearance and later told some charges were downgraded to a class‑C misdemeanor. Hopkins said she was not given paperwork at the time of release and that she had not been afforded a pretrial screening while in custody.

Council members responded with concern: multiple members said they had received similar complaints from other business owners, and they called for HPD and the city attorney to explain the process that led to arrest. Councilmember Evan Shabazz said he had asked Commander Wynne (HPD) to review the matter; HPD provided a preliminary account in which a sergeant requested charges on scene that were initially accepted by the ADA and later reviewed by prosecutors, who deemed a class‑C misdemeanor more appropriate.

Councilmembers asked the business owner to provide details to city staff so the department could open an internal affairs inquiry. The mayor's office said the mayor's staff and HPD would follow up and that the council wanted a clearer account of the procedural steps and the chain of referral from the health department to police and prosecution. Multiple councilmembers said they were troubled by the business owner's description of being jailed without a prompt pretrial screening and asked for records and an investigative response.