Change of venue agreed on for two criminal cases against suspended Sheriff Lyde

MONTAGUE, Texas — Two criminal cases against suspended Clay County Sheriff Jeffrey Lyde will move to Montague County in a change of venue, officials said.

The prosecution and defense both agreed on a change of venue for charges in connection with a July 12, 2021, incident involving a couple who contend Lyde illegally held them in the Clay County Jail, officials said.

Lyde is expected to go on trial Sept. 11 at the Montague County Courthouse for charges of official oppression and tampering with government documents.

The agreement headed off a hearing set to take place for the change of venue request from Lyde's defense attorneys Friday morning at the Montague County Courthouse.

But Lyde was still set to have his day in court at 1:30 p.m. Friday in Montague for a hearing in the petition to remove him from elected office.

Senior Justice Lee Gabriel will listen to his arguments to get rid of the suspension order keeping him from his day-to-day duties as sheriff until a petition for removal is resolved and to dismiss the petition.

Lyde's defense attorneys sought to have the two criminal cases moved from Clay County in a motion filed June 22. They cited negative publicity and community discussion that his attorneys believe tainted the jury pool in Clay County so much that Lyde cannot receive a fair trial.

Their push for a change of venue points to pretrial publicity in media outlets from the Times Record News to the Rolling Stone to local TV and radio stations following Lyde's prosecution.

"The media feeding frenzy has become such that those involved as witnesses have been treated as regionalcelebrities," Lyde's lead defense attorney Bob Estrada and co-counsel Randall D. More of Fort Worth wrote in the motion.

A citation notes a story in the Times Record News about Sarah Lynn Johnson, the woman making allegations about being held illegally in jail.

The motion also cited Clay County Rants & Raves on Facebook and "a personal campaign by local social media journalist Dusti Butler."

More: Couple files federal lawsuit against suspended Sheriff Lyde, Clay County

Butler, a citizen journalist, has a Facebook page, FOR THE RECORD, CLAY COUNTY, TX EDITION, where she posts Facebook Live videos and documents about developments in the county.

What's more, Lyde's attorneys said in the motion that, "Influential people in the Clay County community have undertaken actions constituting public comments on the Defendant's purported guilt."

Those actions might not only compromise seating a fair, impartial jury, but they have also given rise to a climate that "may spawn violence, create potential for jury intimidation and/or jury tampering, and create a circus-like atmosphere," Lyde's attorneys said in the motion.

Special Prosecutor Staley Heatly, who is the district attorney for the 46th district, apparently changed his mind about moving the criminal cases.

He filed a response opposing a change of venue July 6: "The news coverage in this case has not been pervasive nor has it been inaccurate and inflammatory. In addition, there is no evidence that a dangerous combination of influential people is working to influence the manner in which the trial against Defendant proceeds."

In any case, in the two official oppression charges against Lyde, he is accused of holding Johnson and her boyfriend, Landon Paul Goad, in jail and not releasing them after a magistrate determined there was no probable cause for their arrests.

The couple had been arrested at their home for misdemeanor domestic violence charges.

Lyde also faces two charges of tampering with a government document in connection with affidavits for the domestic violence charges against Johnson and Goad. Lyde maintains his innocence of the charges in connection with the couple.

Official oppression and tampering with a government document are a class A misdemeanors punishable by up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine.

The couple filed a civil rights lawsuit against Lyde, Clay County and others in connection with their allegations against the suspended sheriff.

Lyde also faces three charges of official oppression related to sexual harassment and another charge of official oppression connected to assaulting a woman by hitting her on the buttocks, according to allegations in indictments filed in December. The accusations involve three women working at the Sheriff's Office.

Moore has said those allegations are politically motivated.

It was unknown early Friday afternoon whether those cases would also move to Montague County.

Trish Choate, enterprise watchdog reporter for the Times Record News in Wichita Falls, covers education, courts, breaking news, investigative projects and more. Contact Trish with news tips at tchoate@gannett.com. Her Twitter handle is @Trishapedia.

This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Change of venue for two criminal cases against suspended Sheriff Lyde