By KRYSTAL J. CARMAN
The Oklahoma Department of Corrections is recommending jail time for the son of Rogers County District Attorney Gene Haynes.
Earnest Eugene Haynes III, 22, is due in Rogers County District Court at 10:30 a.m., Wednesday.
He was arrested June 24 in Rogers County for public intoxication and was bonded out of jail by his father. A $201 cash bond was posted for Haynes III, who is on probation from Cherokee County.
It was the latest in a string of run-ins with the law. There have been arrests, traffic violations and probation violations, in addition to a second-degree burglary charge in Cherokee County in 2007.
When Haynes III was arrested June 24, arresting officers reported he was found stumbling along Highway 66 near Claremore. It was his third alcohol-related arrest in three years.
On Wednesday, July 9, Haynes III was scheduled to appear in front of Judge Erin Oquin but his father forfeited the cash bond to pay the fines associated with the public intoxication charge. That is common practice in misdemeanors and traffic tickets, according to the district attorney.
“The court clerk has a form to sign the bond over,” Haynes said. “I took some of his money and bonded him out and then I signed the bond over for the fines.”
The probation officer for Haynes III has recommended that “he be sentenced to a substantial term of incarceration in the Rogers County Jail or Avalon Riverside in Tulsa.”
The district attorney is the father of two sons, whom he says are “opposites.”
“You know, his brother was the valedictorian of his class. And Eugene, sometimes I can look back and say what could I have done better for him,” Haynes said. “It’s unfortunate that he has had some trouble. I’m trying to encourage him to deal with his problem.”
In March, the probation officer reported that Haynes III had received several violations while on probation, including traffic tickets for driving under suspension and no insurance in October 2007, throwing a cigarette onto a highway in November 2007, and operating a motor vehicle in a manner not reasonable and proper, taxes due state (no tag), no insurance verification and driving under suspension in May.
The May traffic tickets were issued after Haynes III and a passenger were riding a motorcycle clocked at 82 mph in a 45-mph zone, with 2005 tags, no insurance, and Haynes III with no driver’s license.
In addition, the officer reported that Haynes III has violated rules of his probation by not maintaining full-time employment, possessing and using illegal drugs and alcohol and violating state and city laws.
According to the report, Haynes III informed the probation officer in December 2007 that he had quit his full-time job and was to begin another full-time job, but that job was never verified. In November 2007, Haynes III stated that he had been using marijuana and drinking in a bar in Tahlequah and a urine analysis proved Haynes III had used marijuana the day before reporting to the officer.
After listing that Haynes III has moved five times since October 2006 and changed jobs five times, the probation officer stated: “Haynes does not appear to recognize the opportunity afforded him by the court during his sentencing in Rogers County. Haynes continues to violate laws and is using illegal substances. It does not appear that previous substance abuse counseling had a significant impact on Haynes.
“Although Haynes has completed the majority of the recommendations in an October 2006 drug and alcohol assessment, he continues to abuse both substances. In addition, Haynes appears in need of further intervention addressing cognitive thinking, to include impulse control, low self-esteem and aggression.”
Haynes III received five years probation in October 2006 by now-retired Judge Janice P. Dreiling of the 11th Judicial District. He had been charged with felony DUI, eluding, running a road block, and possession of marijuana. He entered a plea of guilty as part of a plea agreement with the Wagoner County District Attorney’s Office.
In the plea agreement, four additional charges were dropped: possession of drug paraphernalia, speeding, taxes due to the state, and driving under suspension. He was ordered to pay $1,550 in fines and court costs.
Gene Haynes had recused himself from that case, and Wagoner County stepped in.
In November 2007, Haynes III faced a second-degree burglary charge in Cherokee County. According to the probation officer’s report, Haynes III initially denied stealing motor oil, tools, a drill, a stereo, octane booster, injector cleaner and change from a money box from Magic Lube & Oil in Tahlequah.
After submitting DNA for testing because his fingerprints and blood evidence were found at the scene, Haynes III turned himself in four days, admitting his guilt to officers. Haynes III pleaded guilty in Cherokee County District Court in March. He received a five-year suspended sentence, was placed on probation again, and was ordered to pay $498 in fines and costs. A judicial review is set in that case in November.
Because of the guilty plea, the Wagoner County District Attorney’s Office made a motion to dismiss an application to accelerate in May on Haynes’ 2006 sentence, which would have placed him in prison for five years if approved.
By KRYSTAL J. CARMAN
Staff Writer
newsed@swbell.net
