Former Clay County Sheriff Jeffrey Lyde out of jail for medical issues
Jeffrey Lyde, former Clay County sheriff, was free from jail Thursday after suffering from medical issues, his wife, Rhonda Lyde, said.
His blood pressure spiked very high, and he was run from Hardeman County Jail to the emergency room sometime Wednesday night, she said.
"He's having very, very high blood pressure and heart palpitations," she said.
His wife found out about his medical issues early Thursday morning and brought him home from the hospital Thursday afternoon, she said when reached by telephone. He was resting, and she was trying to get him in to see his Veterans Administration physician.
Jeffrey Lyde, 56, began serving a 30-day sentence on Nov. 27 in the jail in Quanah for misdemeanor official oppression and document tampering convictions in Clay County related to his tenure as sheriff. The class A misdemeanors are punishable by up to a year in jail and as much as a $4,000 fine.
The sentence was part of an agreement for his punishment reached Oct. 10 at the Montague County Courthouse for incidents July 12, 2021. A jury found him guilty Sept. 15 of oppression and tampering with a government document related to a man who was illegally held in jail. The conviction resulted in his ouster from elected office as sheriff.
As of Wednesday, he had served approximately 10 days of the sentence.
Hardeman County Sheriff Pat Laughery provided a media release Thursday afternoon about Jeffrey Lyde's release from jail.
The former sheriff was transported to Hardeman County Memorial Hospital Wednesday night in Quanah because he was having "potentially life threatening medical issues." Laws for the privacy of medical information prohibit the Sheriff's Office from disclosing the issues.
It was determined Jeffrey Lyde needed a higher level of care, so he was transported to United Regional Health Care System in Wichita Falls, a larger hospital, Laughery said in the media release.
At that time, Lyde was released from the jail's custody because the Hardeman County Sheriff's Office did not have the manpower to send a deputy out of the county to sit at the hospital for hours or days, Laughery said.
Laughery noted in the statement that his jail was holding Jeffrey Lyde on the Clay County sentence, and the residents of Hardeman County are and always will be Laughery's first priority.
"I could never, in good faith, leave my county unattended," he said.
Laughery stressed that Jeffrey Lyde was released for medical reasons. On Monday, Laughery will meet with a judge and attorneys to determine what the next course of action will be concerning the former sheriff.
https://www.timesrecordnews.com/story/news/2023/12/07/former-sheriff-jeffrey-lyde-out-of-jail-for-health-issues/71841878007/