(Update: One day after the publication of this story, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond’s office unsealed criminal indictments against Coal County Sheriff Jason Smith and Undersheriff Jesse Yother. The following article remains in its original form.)
Facing a grand jury petition to remove him from office, Coal County Sheriff Jason Smith claims allegations of sexual harassment and habitual drunkenness are “false” and politically motivated by his predecessor’s employees.
Court records filed Nov. 21 show that the state’s multi-county grand jury is seeking to remove Smith from office after reviewing allegations that he has sexually harassed employees, acted violently toward his wife and others and showed up to work drunk on multiple occasions.
The recommendation came from Oklahoma’s 21st multi-county grand jury, which was convened in Oklahoma City in December 2024 and is authorized to investigate crimes across the state. In the petition, jurors listed two categories of accusations against Smith: oppression in office and habitual drunkenness.
Title 22, Section 1181 of state statutes lists eight causes for the removal of elected or appointed officers not subject to impeachment.
Smith, who moonlights as a country music singer and bears the nickname “Cadillac,” took office in January after defeating longtime Coal County Sheriff Bryan Jump during the November 2024 elections. Prior to being elected sheriff, Smith worked as a special agent for the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry.
According to the grand jury’s findings, several alleged incidents happened between May and June of this year.
Under the allegation of oppression in office, Smith is accused of making repeated sexual and inappropriate comments on May 19 to a sheriff’s office employee.
“Some of these comments and acts included Jason Smith grabbing [her] by the neck and pulling her hair during work hours,” the petition states. “These comments were sexual in nature, creating a hostile work environment for [her].”
That same day, Smith allegedly “made repeated inappropriate and unprofessional comments” to one of his deputies.
“Some of these comments and acts included Jason Smith touching [the deputy] on her breast(s) and adjusting her sheriff’s deputy vest,” the petition states.
The comments and actions were sexual in nature and created a hostile work environment for the deputy, the petition alleges.
Another incident described in the filing allegedly occurred July 26. Jurors say Smith invited the same female deputy to his personal property during work hours to drink alcohol while on duty. They also allege that Smith shoved his wife during an argument that day and that the confrontation happened in front of the deputy. At some point that day, Smith confronted the deputy’s husband, according to the petition.
“On July 26, 2025, Jason Smith approached and hit [the deputy’s husband] in the face, while on duty,” the petition states.
The final allegation of oppression in office states that Smith slapped a female employee on the butt, though the filing did not include a date for that accusation.
Beyond the harassment and violence allegations, the grand jury says Smith repeatedly drank on duty.
“On July16, 2025, Jason Smith was drunk while on duty,” the petition alleges. “On May 19, 2025, Jason Smith was intoxicated and smelled of alcohol while on duty at the Coal County Jail. (…) At other relevant times during the administration of Jason Smith he would report to the office with the odor of alcohol and additional indicators of drunkenness.”
The petition also alleges that “the sheriff’s wife has expressed concerns about Jason Smith’s drinking.”
Sheriff Jason Smith: ‘These allegations are false’
While the removal action filed against Smith could result in a trial over the accusations, no criminal charges had been filed against him by the publication of this article Monday.
In statements sent to Texoma-area media outlets, Smith said he looks forward to being heard in court and that the allegations came from employees who were first hired by Jump, who served as Coal County sheriff from 2013 to January 2025.
“These allegations are false. The allegations made are personally and politically motivated, based on one-sided testimony from employees of the previous administration,” Smith said. “I’ve been indicted by a multi-county grand jury on hearsay testimony, and I have never been allowed to give my side of the story, even though I’ve asked to do so several times. I’m looking forward to my opportunity to be heard in court, and I absolutely believe I will be completely vindicated of these accusations. I fully intend to keep serving the citizens of Coal County as your duly-elected sheriff.”
The grand jury’s petition asks a district judge to suspend Smith from his job immediately while the case moves forward, as per state statute.
A notice of removal proceedings was filed on the same day as the petition. However, no date was included on the document, which was signed by Pittsburg County District Attorney Chuck Sullivan and Kathryn Bautista of the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office.
“We’ll handle this with the same vigor and integrity we would any case, regardless of the defendant,” Sullivan said in a statement. “He enjoys his presumption of innocence until he’s proven guilty.”
In July, KTEN reported that Coal County District Attorney Tim Webster had asked the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation to review an alleged domestic dispute involving Smith in the town of Coalgate. Smith told KTEN that “false, fabricated allegations have been made against the sheriff’s office.”
“Stuff has been leaked out that is untrue,” Smith said in a statement.
Asked a report that he had been chosen to review the OSBI’s investigation this summer, Sullivan declined to comment.
In 2024, Sullivan recused himself from cases involving former Pittsburg County Sheriff Chris Morris, who eventually agreed to resign and enter an Alford Plea for the embezzlement charges filed against him. Morris, who is also an aspiring country music artist, was convicted on misdemeanor counts and is rumored as a potential candidate to run for Pittsburg County sheriff in the future.
Sullivan said a date for Smith’s removal hearing is expected to be set in the coming days.
