Coalgate, Oklahoma: Coal County Sheriff Jason Smith Removed From Office After Jury Finds Oppression in Office

Coal County Sheriff Jason Smith was removed from office after jurors in a three day removal trial found him guilty of oppression in office, and a court ordered him removed at once, The Oklahoman reported on Friday, November 6.

Jurors did not find Smith guilty of habitual drunkenness on Wednesday, November 4. He had already been suspended from office after a multi county grand jury indictment in late 2025.

The case against him

Former employees accused Smith of sexual harassment, making inappropriate and unprofessional comments, drinking while at work and creating a hostile work environment, The Oklahoman reported.

Court records detailed a July 2025 incident in which Smith allegedly invited a female deputy to his home to drink alcohol during work hours, shoved his wife during an argument and hit the deputy's husband in the face during a confrontation. He first faced two misdemeanor counts of assault and battery. One count was dismissed through a plea agreement in March that brought a 90 day deferred sentence with unsupervised probation.

The Oklahoma Attorney General's office said on November 25, 2025 that the multi county grand jury had indicted Smith on one count of domestic abuse and one count of assault and battery over the July 26 incident in Coalgate, and had moved to remove him from office for those counts, habitual drunkenness and sexual harassment of employees. Undersheriff Jesse Yother was indicted on charges of intimidating a witness and obstructing an officer, the Attorney General's office said.

At trial

Smith testified in his own defense and admitted he made some mistakes, while arguing that the mistakes did not warrant removal. According to NonDoc, he acknowledged in court that he had invited the deputy to his property, offered her a drink and hit the deputy's husband, but he denied deliberately pushing his wife and getting drunk on the job. The deputy and a former jailer told the court they had felt uncomfortable with some of his actions.

His defense attorney, Billy Coyle of Oklahoma City, argued that the state's case lacked sufficient proof to strip Smith of the office and that a single misdemeanor plea should not have been enough to warrant removal. After the verdict, Coyle said the sheriff "did put himself in a situation of some conduct that was not up to par."

Smith has described the allegations as false and politically motivated by employees who worked for the prior sheriff, Bryan Jump.

What comes next

Jump, a Democrat, is now the interim sheriff of Coal County. Smith, a Republican, beat Jump in the November 5, 2024 election for the office, KXII reported at the time of the indictment.

James Green, the lead prosecutor in the removal case and the district attorney for Pittsburg and Haskell counties, did not return a request for comment from The Oklahoman before publication. He told NonDoc he had been prepared to honor the earlier plea deal ahead of the trial until the judge decided differently.

Coyle said Smith might have grounds to appeal in the coming days and might be able to run again. A special election is anticipated to fill the sheriff's office.