By AMANDA KIMBLE
TheFlashToday.com
ERATH COUNTY (December 21, 2016) – Matt Coates walked into the 266th Judicial District Court Tuesday as an investigator and walked out of the courthouse hours later as Erath County sheriff.
Commissioners temporarily appointed Coates, a seasoned law enforcement official working for District Attorney Alan Nash, interim sheriff following the unexpected death of Sheriff Tommy Bryant.
Erath County Judge Tab Thompson told The Flash Wednesday morning Coates is expected to serve for two years. The full appointment will not become official until a special meeting of the commissioner’s court is held.
“We have 10 days left in the month, so Tuesday’s appointment was for the remainder of the year,” Thompson said. “We will call a special meeting for late next week.”
The two-year appointment will carry the position to the November 2018 general election, when voters will have the opportunity to weigh in on the office, according to Thompson. He said the victor in that race will be sworn into office in January 2019 and serve a two-year term.
“At that end of those two years, the office will be on the ballot again,” Thompson said, citing local government code. “That will get the sheriff’s race back on the regular election schedule for a four-year term.”
The election details were confirmed with state officials.
Meanwhile, many community members and longtime supporters of Bryant are still shocked by the news of his death and asking questions about the new sheriff.
Coates has previous experience with the Erath County office. He served a one-year stint under Bryant prior to taking the job in the DA’s office in August 1994. Prior to serving locally, he was chief investigator with the Howard County Sheriff’s Office.
Judge Kathryn Wiseman, of Howard County, spoke to The Flash about Coates’ character and the impression he left on colleagues. She said Coates earned the respect of law enforcement officials in that county and the city of Big Spring.
“He worked with the sheriff’s office back into the early 1990s,” Wiseman said. “He was always reliable, kind and trustworthy. Matt knows how to put people at ease and diffuse a stressful situation.”
When it comes to the next two years, Wiseman believes Erath County commissioners made the right move.
“We are sorry to hear of the trouble in Erath County, but we believe your commissioners chose a good man,” she said.
The emergency appointment of Coates was made by Erath County Commissioners Court hours after Bryant was found dead from self-inflicted gunshot wound in his Stephenville home.
Bryant would have been sworn in to his fifth term on January 1, 2017, the 20th anniversary of his elected service. He ousted longtime Sheriff David Coffee in the 1996 general election. And he was poised for retirement – and subject of an investigation by state officials – when he was reportedly found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Coates reportedly served his first hours as sheriff overseeing a complete inventory of the department, replacing locks and securing the facility. Sources also say the new sheriff placed Bryant’s top-ranked deputies – Chief Investigation Jason Upshaw, Cpt. Randy Fowler and Lt. Bobby Mendez – on suspension.
The suspensions and Bryant’s death come during an ongoing investigation by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE). The investigation began with allegations about deceptive and dishonest testing and certification practices, but The Flash has received information that other issues at the department were uncovered.
A press conference and “Meet and Greet” will be held at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Erath County Sheriff’s Office.
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