TCSS Coach Charged With Public Intoxication Faces Probation Revocation

TUSCALOOSA, AL — A coach at Lloyd Wood Education Center arrested last week at the school for public intoxication remains in jail as a judge considers revoking his probation from a previous domestic violence conviction.

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As Patch previously reported, 40-year-old James Steven Cox was arrested Friday on the lone charge and booked into the Tuscaloosa County Jail after his bond on the misdemeanor was set at $300.

According to court documents obtained by Patch, the school resource officer at Lloyd Wood Education Center — a Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's deputy — made contact with Cox while the coach was "struggling with a student in the hallway."

The deputy said that during the incident, they noticed a strong odor of an unknown alcoholic beverage emitting from Cox, before noting that he would sway back and forth when standing still.

The SRO also pointed out that Cox's eyes were bloodshot and pupils were dilated. When considering how Cox was handling the student, the deputy said that both parties were separated, with the SRO taking the student into an office and Cox returning to the gym.

TCSO supervisors were then contacted and responded to the school along with TCSS human resources.

Deputies spoke with Cox and reportedly gave him numerous opportunities to take a PBT breath test, which Cox denied.

What's more, the responding officers noticed that during the time that Cox was being talked to, the room began to smell of alcohol. This prompted school administrators to go to Cox's desk, where they found a half-full can of hard cider, three cans of hard tea (two of which were empty) and two empty Coco-flavored Buzz Ballz.

Officials mentioned that two half-full cans were still cold to the touch when they were discovered and eventually charged Cox with public intoxication.

District Judge Joanne Jannik is now considering revoking Cox's probation after the motion was made Monday by the Tuscaloosa County District Attorney's Office asserting that Cox had violated the terms of his probation from a previous conviction.

The proposed probation revocation follows a conviction in May on a single count of third-degree domestic violence that Cox was arrested for in the previous year.

The 2023 arrest stemmed from a dispute between Cox and his ex-wife, who accused Cox of hitting her in the face during the altercation.

Court records show that Cox was employed at Davis Emerson Middle School at the time of the misdemeanor arrest.

A probation revocation hearing for Cox has been set for Oct. 10.

Tuscaloosa Patch has contacted the Tuscaloosa County School System for comment on Cox's prior arrest and will update this story accordingly.

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