A district judge formally suspended Coal County Sheriff Jason Smith and ordered him to turn over his badge and gun Thursday, issuing the ruling after county commissioners improperly attempted to remove him Monday with an invalid vote.
Bryan County District Judge Mark Campbell ordered Smith’s suspension nearly three weeks after a multi-county grand jury filed a petition Nov. 21 seeking his removal from office. The case was assigned to Campbell after judges in Coal County filed a recusal.
According to the jury’s petition, Smith sexually harassed employees, directed violence toward his wife and others, and showed up to work drunk on multiple occasions. Jurors listed two categories of accusations in the petition — oppression in office and habitual drunkenness.
Campbell’s order states that sufficient cause was found to warrant Smith’s immediate suspension, despite the state not requesting it.
“Accordingly, the defendant, Jason Smith, is hereby immediately suspended from the Office of Sheriff of Coal County,” Campbell’s order states. “Further, the defendant, Jason Smith, shall immediately surrender his badge and any weapons issued by the Coal County Sheriff’s Office to the Coal County Commissioners. Further, the defendant, Jason Smith, is hereby barred from entering the premises of the Coal County Sheriff’s Office until further order of this court.”
Oklahoma Title 22, Section 1195 states after a complaint for removal is filed and the petition requests the suspension of the official pending the investigation, “the judge of the court may, if sufficient cause appear from the charge or from the testimony, or affidavits then presented, order the suspension of the accused from the functions of his office until the determination of the matter.”
Coal County Commissioners met in emergency session Thursday evening after receiving Campbell’s order to appoint Kenny Pebworth as interim sheriff. The commission originally took vote Monday, but it was also ruled invalid because of the improper vote against Smith.
Pittsburg County District Attorney Chuck Sullivan, who was assigned to prosecute the case following the recusal of Coal County District Attorney Tim Webster, said Tuesday that he and the board erroneously believed they had the authority to suspend Smith. Sullivan said that since the vote to suspend Smith was invalid, Smith was allowed to stay on the job.
Along with the removal petition, Smith, 48, is facing two misdemeanor assault charges for allegedly shoving his own wife and punching a deputy’s husband on July 26. His undersheriff, Jesse Yother, 64, faces a felony count of intimidating a witness and a misdemeanor count of obstructing an officer in relation to the same incident. Yother was suspended from his position on Monday. Sullivan said the vote to suspend Yother was valid because the undersheriff is not an elected office.
Court hearings for both men currently remained scheduled for a Feb. 6 special docket. A status hearing on Smith’s removal is also set for the same day.
Smith: ‘This blew up’
According to an incident report obtained from the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, OHP Lt. Tommy Richardson responded late July 26 to a domestic disturbance involving Coal County Sheriff Jason Smith, Smith’s wife, a sheriff’s deputy and the deputy’s husband.
When Richardson arrived, Choctaw Lighthorse officers and another OHP trooper were already on scene. Richardson said Smith stood near a fence outside the home, speaking loudly, and the trooper wrote in his report that he assumed the sheriff was intoxicated.
The deputy told Richardson that Smith had called her to the residence under the pretense of discussing work issues. She said that when Smith’s wife arrived, she and the sheriff began arguing about the deputy’s presence. During that dispute, the deputy said she saw Smith shove his wife.
The deputy said her husband then drove up to the residence but stayed in his truck.
“[The deputy’s husband] and Smith had a verbal altercation about [the deputy] being at this residence,” the deputy told Richardson in the report. “Smith slapped [the deputy’s husband] while he was sitting in the vehicle.”
Richardson noted the smell of alcohol on the deputy and asked whether she had been drinking. After he told her “she is in uniform, has a sidearm, and that he could smell alcohol, so she had better not lie,” the deputy admitted she and Smith had been consuming alcohol together that evening. Richardson said he then instructed her to remove her duty weapon and place it in another patrol unit.
When Richardson questioned Smith, he acknowledged drinking but denied pushing his wife or slapping the deputy’s husband. He said he had asked the deputy to stop by because he wanted to discuss accusations he believed county commissioners and a former sheriff were making against him.
“Smith’s wife and [the deputy’s husband] showed up an undetermined amount of time later, and Smith stated that this ‘blew up,'” the report states.
The sheriff then admitted drinking alcohol and that the deputy “had a sip.” Richardson again noted in his report that it appeared Smith was intoxicated.
Given the allegations, Richardson contacted Coal County Assistant District Attorney Cheyanne Anderson, who advised that OHP could handle the matter or request assistance from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. Richardson said he also consulted OHP Major Eric Cannad, and they decided to contact OSBI.
OSBI Capt. Adam Whitney and Lt. Shawn Ward arrived later that evening and interviewed the individuals involved. Richardson said he remained on scene until agents completed their initial investigation.
The report states that audio and video recordings of his investigation are available, but that due to the distance from his patrol vehicle, the audio is “occasionally faint and difficult to understand.”
