 Having returned to Abilene in 1996, he taught political science for a time at Hardin-Simmons and served on the city council and as an assistant city attorney while maintaining a law practice.He and his wife, Joy McClellan Carrillo, have three daughters.While in Abilene, they attended Abilene Bible Church, and Carrillo was a member of the Chamber of Commerce, the Abilene Hispanic Leadership Council, Keep Abilene Beautiful, the Salvation Army, and the board of advisors of the "Texas Journal of Oil, Gas, and Energy", published by the University of Texas at Austin School of Law.