Deal struck in pursuit case

A deal was struck in the criminal case of a Texas man who only a few weeks took a wild ride through parts of Pauls Valley in an unsuccessful attempt to escape arrest.

The plea agreement with prosecutors was finalized recently for Darrell Neal Coffman, 43.

The Haltom City, Texas man waived his right to a trial and as part of the deal entered guilty pleas to a felony charge of attempting to elude officers while endangering others and a misdemeanor drunk driving count filed in Garvin County District Court.

In return Coffman was handed a three-year suspended sentence in each case.

Included was a term in county jail which had already been met since Coffman spent about a month behind bars before his release as part of the plea agreement.

Coffman was also ordered to attend DUI school, in addition to an order to pay a number of fees.

Coffman’s problems began on April 27 after he was initially stopped by local officers because of an earlier hit-and-run accident.

State troopers requested that local officers go to the Braum’s store on West Grant Avenue to make contact with two subjects in a pickup truck, which had been involved in some type of accident while traveling on Interstate 35.

A check led to officers soon learning that Coffman was driving with a revoked Texas license and had a warrant issued in Tennessee for his arrest, which didn’t include an order for extradition.

With both officers still at the scene the call went out for one of them to go work another accident occurring only a short distance west on Grant.

Seconds later the officer remaining at the site reported hearing the second subject screaming at Coffman as he backed up the truck and left the Braum’s parking lot at a high rate of speed.

From there he sped across the neighboring highway forcing other vehicles on the four lanes of traffic to skid to a stop to avoid a collision.

After the vehicle spun out of control, Coffman soon got the vehicle traveling northbound on Ballard Road, where at one point another vehicle was forced off the road.

Strangely enough it was the wet roads from rainy weather at that time and the high speed of Coffman’s truck, estimated at up to 100 mph, that brought the chase to a quick end as the vehicle soon went into a ditch.

There Coffman was taken into custody without any further incident.