Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett accepted a plea deal after he was charged with driving under the influence. He was arrested after leaving a bar in Tullahoma in June.
Hargett appeared in a Coffee County courtroom on Thursday, Oct. 13 and pleaded guilty for first offense of driving under the influence under an Alford plea. He paid a $350 fine and attended DUI school in addition to having his driver’s license restricted for a year. He will drive his personal car for state business with an interlock system inside — also referred to as a car breathalyzer.
He pleaded guilty under a “best-interest” plea, which is also known as an Alford plea — where the defendant pleads guilty while maintaining factual innocence of the crime. The agreement was made between Hargett his attorney Doug Aaron and the Coffee County District Attorney’s office.
District Attorney Craig Northcott stated to On Target News that he understands Hargett spent his mandatory 48 hours in jail at the DUI Education Center in Rutherford County.
On June 18, a Tullahoma Police officer observed Hargett’s assigned state vehicle leaving Bar 315 in Tullahoma and pulled the vehicle over shortly after it left the business and crossed over road markings multiple times. He had been to Bonnaroo earlier in the evening.
Hargett apologized after court in Manchester on Thursday.
