After the pair had been held for nearly 70 hours, Lyde shopped the case to a different judge, who was presented paperwork falsely indicating that the arrestees had been in jail for less than two days. That judge approved a finding of probable cause. The duo finally paid bonds of $1,500 and were released.
As the scandal was evolving in real time, Lyde refused to take instruction from the local DA, who’d gotten wind of the unlawful detainments and told the sheriff he needed to release the couple. In a conversation with a Texas Ranger, a recording of which was played for the jury, Lyde complained that the first justice of the peace was “going to bat for a couple of fucking meth heads.”
Later, Lyde also failed to turn over the original, notarized finding of no probable cause when subpoenaed by prosecutors. He instead concealed the document in his personal office at the sheriff’s department. Following a five-day trial, which concluded with just an hour of jury deliberations, Lyde was convicted of “official oppression” and “tampering with a government record” — both Class A misdemeanors. Each charge can be punished by up to a year in prison. Sentencing is expected in October.
“The jury sent an important message with their verdict,” prosecutor Staley Heatly said after the verdict. “No man is above the law, and no man below it.” Sheriff Lyde, Heatly added, had “decided that the rules did not apply to how he treated inmates in his facility. The jury rightly decided that the Constitution applies equally to all of us.”