Former Tyler Legacy principal indicted for alleged cocaine possession
Published 5:40 pm Monday, August 16, 2021
- Dan Crawford
Former Tyler Legacy Principal Dan Crawford, who is accused of having cocaine in his home in June, has been indicted on a charge of possession of a controlled substance in a drug-free zone.
Crawford was arrested for the offense June 28 after he met with detectives and turned himself in. On that same day, he was released from the Smith County Jail on a $1,500 bond.
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A grand jury handed down an indictment on Aug. 12 in the 7th District Court, according to Smith County judicial records.
The charge stems from an incident late on the night of June 2 when Tyler police officers responded to assist EMS and found Crawford leaned against the back door of his residence with a red face and neck completely covered in blood.
He was sitting in a large pool of blood and appeared to have a large cut on the back of his head. Police said next to a sink, an officer found a small baggie with a “white powdery substance,” according to the arrest affidavit.
That substance was tested immediately and presumptively identified as cocaine. On June 16, results from a forensic scientist at the Texas Department of Public Safety lab in Tyler confirmed the substance was about .22 grams of cocaine, according to the affidavit.
Because his home on Pinnacle Circle is within 1,000 feet of the premises of a school, which in this case is Three Lakes Middle School, the residence is considered a drug-free zone in Texas. This offense is classified as a third-degree felony. If found guilty of this offense, a person could face two to 10 years in prison in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. A person found guilty could also be punished with a fine not to exceed $10,000.
When officers came on the scene, both Crawford and his wife, Jennifer, told police they didn’t know how he was injured, according to the affidavit.
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The detective noted the baggie of the white substance and Crawford’s wife said it was not hers, the affidavit read.
A detective spoke with Crawford’s wife who said she went to Chipotle for dinner earlier in the day. She set up her food to eat on the back patio, and she claimed her husband got upset because his food was not already set up for him to start eating, according to the document.
She told the police they began arguing and he started throwing things at her. She said he went into the front bedroom of the house and locked himself inside the room. She then went to the backyard and started throwing things into the yard. She said the backdoor opened and she heard her name being called from inside the residence. She came inside to find her husband on the floor covered in blood, according to the document.
Both Crawfords were highly intoxicated, and he was later taken to the hospital by EMS.
Police searched the area around Crawford to find any reason why his head was injured; however, no obvious weapons or signs of impact were located around the kitchen. Police found no signs of a struggle outside.
Crawford, who was at Tyler Legacy since 2016, resigned from his position June 4, and his resignation was then accepted.
Dr. Kristen Walls was named the new principal of Tyler Legacy on July 15. She was formerly academic dean and assistant principal at then-named Robert E. Lee High School from 2017 through 2020. In 2020, she became principal at Hogg Middle School.