Man pleads to disorderly conduct

CLOVIS — A Clovis man is hoping a Thanksgiving weekend mistake will soon be behind him.

Jeffery Cole, 60, pleaded no contest Thursday to a charge of disorderly conduct, stemming from an accusation he exposed himself to a store clerk Nov. 22 at North Plains Mall.

According to terms of the plea reached in Clovis Magistrate Court, Cole receives 182 days of supervised probation, a suspended sentence of 180 days in jail and $73 in court fines. Magistrate Judge Janemarie Vander Dussen also stipulated Cole undergo 10 or more counseling sessions as mandated by the probation office and not contact the victim.

Should Cole satisfactorily complete the probation, his jail time will be limited to the two days he served following his arrest last November.

“This was a complete misunderstanding,” Cole’s attorney Tye Harmon said following the brief hearing. “We’re satisfied with the plea, and are working to put it behind him.”

Prosecutor Jake Boazman told Vander Dussen the charge was reduced from the initial charge of indecent exposure due to evidentiary issues — first that, “there are people who could have been spoken to about the case, but they weren’t spoken to,” and also Boazman’s own evaluation of the security footage.

Boazman felt a juror watching surveillance footage could reasonably agree with Cole’s explanation of events. Cole has consistently said he was unaware his pants were unzipped until law enforcement caught up with him at another store, and he guessed the officer tracked him down on a false accusation of shoplifting.

The victim didn’t attend the hearing, but Boazman said she was satisfied with the plea agreement. Cole was as well.

“He’s never had any criminal history whatsoever,” Harmon said. “He has no problem on the conditions of release and will go through the necessary process.”

Although the defense felt confident arguing the case to a jury, Harmon said his client wanted to avoid the additional time, expense and stress of a trial.