Texas Police Charge Coates With DWI
Oklahoma state Sen. Harry Coates formally charged with DWI in Texas
by Kyle Fredrickson
An Oklahoma state senator jailed in May on a driving while intoxicated complaint has been formally charged with a misdemeanor in Grayson County, Texas, court.
Harry Edward Coates, 64, R-Seminole, was charged July 7 following a May 15 arrest in Howe, Texas, about 40 miles south of Durant. Coates has a preliminary hearing scheduled Sept. 5, according to online court records.
“We are looking forward to reviewing all of the discovery in this case,” said Coates’ attorney John Hunter Smith. “And determining how we are going to resolve this case in the near future.”
Coates was pulled over about 11 p.m. the night of the arrest on southbound U.S. 75 near Farmington Road. A motorist reported Coates driving erratically, according to the arrest report and a statement posted on the Howe Police Department’s Facebook page.