UPDATED: Suspended Clay County Sheriff Lyde to serve jail time for oppression, tampering

MONTAGUE, Texas — Suspended Clay County Sheriff Jeffrey Lyde will serve 30 days in Hardeman County Jail, pay fines, permanently surrendered his law enforcement license and gave up his right to appeal as part of an agreement for his punishment for two misdemeanor crimes.

Lyde is to pay a $750 fine for each count for his sentences for official oppression and tampering with a government document.

He will begin serving his concurrent 30-day sentences at noon Nov. 27 in the Hardeman County Jail.

Lyde remains free and was not handcuffed and led away Tuesday from the courtroom like other defendants destined to serve time behind bars.

Misdemeanor charges against him related to allegations of sexual harassment in the Sheriff's Office are to be dismissed as part of the agreement, as well as two other charges of official oppression and tampering.

Senior Justice Lee Gabriel asked Lyde a series of questions related to the agreement before sentencing him at about 11:08 a.m. Tuesday in 97th District Court.

A petition to remove Lyde from elected office as sheriff is still pending.

One of the petitioners, Frank Douthitt, a Clay County attorney and former district judge, said after the sentencing that he believes the matter of the petition will be resolved in a couple of days.

Douthitt said Lyde cannot serve as sheriff without a law enforcement officer’s license, but he remains in office.

“He’s got to resign, or we’ve got to go ahead and try it,” Douthitt said. “We’ll win it.”

In addition, his class A misdemeanor means he is not qualified to hold a license from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement.

The other petitioner, 97th District Attorney Casey Hall, said justice was done Tuesday, and she was happy about it.

Staley Heatly, who is the district attorney for the 46th district, prosecuted the cases as an attorney pro tem.

“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 Lyde’s sentencing.

Lead defense counsel Bob Estrada of Wichita Falls explained why the punishment agreement benefited his client.

“Any case where there are multiple possible trials, the biggest advantage is to get it done and wrapped up all at one time,” Estrada said after Lyde’s sentencing.

Win, lose or draw, trials are very stressful on both defendants and victims, he said.

Gabriel was slated to begin hearing testimony at 9 a.m. Tuesday morning at the Montague County Courthouse for the punishment phase of Lyde’s trial.

Instead, discussions took place behind closed doors until almost 11 a.m. while witnesses and onlookers waited.

Close to 10:30 a.m., paperwork showed up in the courtroom in the hands of prosecutors. But the wait continued.

Finally, Lyde, two prosecutors and two defense attorneys filed back into the courtroom and sat down at their respective tables.

Gabriel handed down Lyde's sentence in 97th District Court in the wake of a jury finding him guilty of official oppression and tampering with a governmental record on Sept. 15 at the Montague County Courthouse.

More: Suspended sheriff Lyde found guilty of official oppression, evidence tampering

Lyde faced up to a year in county jail and a fine up to $4,000 for official oppression and tampering with a governmental record in July 12, 2021, incidents. Both are class A misdemeanors.

Jurors determined Lyde was guilty of illegally holding Landon Goad in Clay County Jail and not releasing him after a judge found no probable cause to hold them.

The jury also found him guilty of tampering with court documents connected to the domestic violence charge against Goad. The misdemeanor charge was later dropped.

The prosecution and defense agreed to move the trial to Montague County on a change of venue. Defense attorneys cited negative publicity and community discussion they believe tainted the jury pool in Clay County so much Lyde would not have been able to receive a fair trial.

Two other charges of official oppression and tampering with a government document in connection with July 12, 2021, incidents involving Sarah Lynn Johnson were also moved to Montague County. But Lyde was tried only on the charges related to Goad, and those charges are to be dismissed.

Johnson and Goad are suing Lyde and Clay County in federal court for alleged violations of their constitutional rights. A domestic violence charge against Johnson was also dropped.

Lyde has faced several court battles in the last few years: petitions for his removal from elected office as sheriff; a petition to remove him as chairman of the Clay County Memorial Hospital Board; federal lawsuits; and various criminal charges.

More: Suspended Sheriff Lyde racks up victory in federal lawsuit

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: Suspended Sheriff Jeffrey Lyde sentenced