State law brings the hammer down on former Clay County Sheriff Jeffrey Lyde

Just after former Clay County Sheriff Jeffrey Lyde’s sentencing, questions careened around the judicial halls of Montague County Courthouse.

How did Lyde’s convictions impact his status as elected sheriff? Under what circumstances would he legally no longer be sheriff? Would he have to resign from office first?

After all, removal of a sheriff from elected office is rare in these parts, or any part, of the Lone Star State.

Lyde's ultimate downfall involved Landon Paul Goad, a man with little power in Clay County involved in "a feisty relationship," as they describe it in a lawsuit, with Sarah Lynn Johnson. Both are county residents.

On Sept. 15, a jury found Lyde guilty of official oppression and tampering with a governmental document in 97th District Court at the Montague County Courthouse.

Lyde illegally kept Goad in Clay County Jail — not releasing him after a judge found no probable cause to hold him — in a July 12, 2021, incident, and the former sheriff tampered with court documents connected to the domestic violence charge against Goad. The charge was later dropped.

A judge moved Lyde's trial for the misdemeanors from Clay County because of pretrial publicity and concerns about a circus-like atmosphere springing up around the proceedings. Lyde has been at the center of a firestorm of controversies that divided the community and extensive media coverage, including Rolling Stone magazine.

Lyde's status: 'Hereby removed'

On Oct. 10, Senior Justice Lee Gabriel sentenced Lyde to serve 30 days in county jail and pay a $750 fine for each of the two counts against him as part of a punishment plea deal hammered out that morning at the courthouse.

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

Lyde also voluntarily surrendered his license from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement. And he waived his right to appeal. In return, his remaining criminal cases, all misdemeanors, were to be dismissed.

They include charges of official oppression and tampering involving Johnson and a domestic violence charge brought against her, as well as charges related to allegations of sexual harassment in the Sheriff's Office.

The answer to questions about Lyde's status as an elected official post-conviction turned out to be simple: Texas law says a county sheriff’s conviction, by way of a jury, for any misdemeanor or felony involving official misconduct serves to immediately boot that sheriff from elected office.

As a result, petitioners in a lawsuit seeking to topple Lyde as sheriff are ready to hang up their spurs in that fight.

Frank Douthitt, a Clay County attorney and former district judge, and 97th District Attorney Casey Hall filed a motion Wednesday in Clay County District Court asking Gabriel to dismiss their petition for removal since it is moot.

They pointed out Gabriel signed an amended judgment for Lyde’s conviction for official oppression with the notation that he was “hereby removed from office as Clay County sheriff” — as specified by Texas local government code.

The same law required the judge to include the order removing him from office in the judgment.

And so ends Lyde’s stint as sheriff, which fell just short of three years. He was elected Nov. 3, 2020, and sworn in Nov. 30 that year. He didn't spend the entire time running the Sheriff's Office.

After a hearing in Hall and Douthitt's petition for removal this February, Gabriel ruled to temporarily suspend Lyde from his duties as sheriff until the petition was resolved.

Clay County deals with fallout

Lyde's tenure was beset with controversy in criminal and civil court, among his employees at the Sheriff's Office, on the Clay County Memorial Hospital Board and in social media where his fierce supporters faced off with his detractors, also fierce. Lyde won some battles. Others are still pending.

Disputes involving the former sheriff led Clay County resident Dusti Butler to create For the Record, Clay County TX Edition on Facebook. She aims to shed light on goings-on involving Lyde and other government issues. Butler became a citizen journalist, sharing her findings, her opinion and a slew of documents with members of the private group.

If the judge grants Douthitt and Hall's dismissal request as expected, the journey of their petition filed Jan. 3 would come to a close without having directly accomplished the goal of removing Lyde from office.

But just after Lyde's sentencing, Douthitt said he felt their mission was, indeed, accomplished where Lyde was concerned.

And 46th District Attorney Staley Heatly, who prosecuted the cases as an attorney pro tem, noted a crucial point connected to Lyde surrendering his law enforcement license.

“He will never be able to be a peace officer again. That was an important part of the negotiations in this case,” Heatly said after the sentencing.

Where do you send a controversial former sheriff to jail?

Lyde is to turn himself in to begin serving his sentence at noon Nov. 27.

Bob Estrada of Wichita Falls, lead defense attorney in Lyde’s trial, explained why the former sheriff will serve his time about an hour and a half northwest of Henrietta.

“The reason that Sheriff Lyde was sentenced to his 30 days in Hardeman County was the fact that there have been too many witnesses or people that were close to the case involved in the most logical counties,” Estrada said in an interview Thursday.

“Wichita, Montague, Clay and Archer all had either a disgruntled former employee or a possible and actual witness in the case that went to trial,” Estrada said. “Hardeman County was far enough away that there was no one associated with that jail that would have been a factor in that case.”

Hardeman County Jail in Quanah is overseen by Sheriff Pat Laughery.

It has a capacity of 11 beds, according to Texas Commission on Jail Standards' population reports.

Estrada said Lyde will not receive special treatment or protection in jail because he is a former sheriff.

“He will be treated like anyone else,” Estrada said.

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 X handle is @Trishapedia.

This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Former Clay County Sheriff Jeffrey Lyde's fate sealed by Texas law