Former Vernon College coach arrested in prostitution sting
Former Vernon College softball coach John Blair resigned from his coaching job at Bushland ISD after he was arrested Friday evening in Lubbock during a prostitution sting, according to police and jail records.
Blair, who had been head coach of the Lady Falcons for the past year, was arrested Friday evening in the 2300 block of Broadway in Lubbock. He is charged with soliciting a prostitute.
Under tougher laws to combat human trafficking, the punishment for a first-time offense is up to two years in a state jail facility and up to a $4,000 fine. Possible penalties rise if certain conditions exist. Anyone accused of a crime is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
According to Lubbock County Detention Center records, Blair was booked into jail Saturday and released on bond Sunday.
The police department confirms the arrest was part of a larger undercover, multi-agency sting operation in which more than 20 arrests were made.
The Lubbock Police Department’s Special Operations Division, Texas Department of Public Safety, Lubbock Sheriff’s Department and Lubbock Fire Department conducted a two-day human trafficking operation Friday and Saturday, according to a statement from Lubbock police.
The operation resulted in 17 felony arrests for solicitation of prostitution, seven arrests for misdemeanor prostitution and arrests for other charges.
Blair was a longtime coach in North Texas before he took a job at Bushland ISD. He coached at Vernon College for 17 years, winning more than 500 games.
He also spent eight seasons at Burkburnett ISD, including the last four as head coach. He resigned in the middle of the 2020 season, shortly before the UIL shut down all athletic competitions because of COVID-19.
Bushland ISD posted a statement to the district's website about a teacher and coach who informed BISD he was arrested for prostitution over the weekend.
Though the release does not mention Blair by name, Bushland Athletic Directory Josh Reynolds directed the Amarillo Globe-News to the statement when asked for comment on Blair's arrest.
According to the statement, that employee has resigned from the school.
"Sunday, April 30, 2023, the District administration was informed by a teacher/coach that he was arrested on state charges of solicitation of prostitution in Lubbock, Texas on or about April 29, 2023," Bushland ISD Superintendent Chris Wigington said in the statement.
"The employee immediately tendered his resignation and was directed by school administration not to return to District property," Wignington said.
At this time no minors or other school employees appear to be involved, according to the statement.
"State and federal law prohibit the District from disclosing confidential personnel information," Wigington said. "Therefore, the District will not provide further information on this matter."
Blair is in his first year as head coach of the Lady Falcons and with Bushland ISD. He previously served as head softball coach at Vernon College for 17 years.
The Lady Falcons won the District 1-3A title this season, going 10-0 in district play and 26-7 overall. They just beat Lubbock Roosevelt 28-0 on Thursday in Dimmitt in the bi-district round.
Bushland is scheduled to take on Littlefield this Thursday in a best-of-three series.
Game one is set for 6 p.m. Thursday at Plainview High School with game two coming Friday at 5 p.m. If needed, game three will be played 30 minutes after game two.
It was not immediately clear who would serve as interim coach for the softball team. Amber Parkhurst and Scott Rankin are listed as assistant coaches for Bushland on their GameChanger page.
The Texas Legislature has approved elevating the offense of soliciting prostitution from a class B misdemeanor to a state jail felony, effective Sept. 1, 2021, for a first offense. A class B misdemeanor is punishable by up to 180 days in jail and a fine as much as $2,000.
A second offense of soliciting prostitution is a third-degree felony and carries a punishment of up to 10 years in prison and a fine up to $10,000.
Soliciting prostitution is a second-degree felony if it involves someone younger than 18 or represented to the offender as such, as well as if the offender believes the person involved is under 18.
Trish Choate, enterprise watchdog reporter for the Times Record News, covers education, courts, breaking news and more. Contact Trish with news tips at tchoate@gannett.com. Read her recent work here. Her Twitter handle is @Trishapedia.
This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Former Vernon coach arrested in prostitution sting
