Third Grade Teacher Previously Arrested for Public Intoxication, Arrested Again on Same Charge in the Payne County Courthouse

Kimberly Coates, a third grade teacher at Perkins-Tryon schools, was arrested in August at school for public intoxication charge. (file photo: Perkins Police Department).

PERKINS, OK (KOKH) — A third-grade teacher who was arrested in August on complaints of being intoxicated on the job was arrested again this week.

This time, she’s accused of being intoxicated in court.

According to court documents, on Monday, an on-duty deputy at the Payne County Courthouse saw Kimberly Coates enter the courthouse unsteady on her feet.

The deputy said while Coates was getting processed through security, he noticed Coates had glazed eyes and her speech was slow and slurred.

According to the deputy, Coates smelled of alcohol when he approached her.

When the deputy asked what she was there for, she said she was there for court, so he decided to allow her to attend her court appearance and move through security.

Coates was in court that day for a hearing on her August public intoxication charge.

While Coates was on her way to the courtroom, the deputy watched her through surveillance video, tracking her movement. He said as Coates made her way from the second to the third floor, she had to use the railing and the wall to steady herself.

The deputy said when Coates reached the top of the stairs and walked to the courtroom, she seemed unsteady and weaving.

Once Coates was in court, the deputy went to the courtroom to further investigate. He said when Coates and someone from Court Supervision Services came out of the attorney-client room, the person informed him that Coates had a strong odor of an intoxicating substance on her breath.

After Coates was finished in the courtroom, the deputy said he approached her on the second floor. He said she admitted to having a glass of wine in the morning.

The deputy then explained to her that she was under arrest for public intoxication.

Coates was then escorted downstairs to the front desk at the security checkpoint, handcuffed, and taken to the Payne County Jail without incident.