J.D. Bales is accused of charging $5,455.81 on a school district credit card at the Men’s Club of Houston while attending a coaching clinic in July, according to the Wise County Messenger.
North Texas coach arrested after blowing $5K at strip club on school district credit card
Published: Wed, 12/27/23
North Texas coach arrested after blowing $5K at strip club on school district credit card
Soccer coach J.D. Bales spent $5,455 at the Men's Club of Houston using a Bridgeport ISD credit card, authorities told the Wise County Messenger.
J.D. Bales is accused of charging $5,455.81 on a school district credit card at the Men’s Club of Houston while attending a coaching clinic in July, according to the Wise County Messenger.
San Antonio Express-News
By Melissa Manno, Staff writer
A North Texas high school coach has been arrested after allegedly spending thousands of dollars at a Houston area strip club using his school district credit card.
Officers took J.D. Bales, a former assistant soccer coach at Bridgeport High School in Wise County, into custody on Dec. 15 on a felony charge of theft of property. He was released after posting a $10,000 bond, court records show.
Bales resigned from his coaching position and his role as a middle school special education teacher in September after evidence showed that he used a Bridgeport Independent School District credit card at the Men’s Club of Houston over the summer, the Wise County Messenger reported.
According to the news outlet, Bales is accused of charging $5,455.81 while attending a coaching clinic in July. He initially claimed the charges were fraudulent, but later reimbursed the district after a police investigation proved otherwise.
Bridgeport Police Chief Steve Stanford told the Messenger that he submitted the case to the Wise County District Attorney’s Office because it involved the misuse of taxpayer money. A grand jury indicted Bales last month and a warrant was issued for his arrest, Stanford said.
Bales had worked for the school district, which is northwest of Fort Worth, since 2018 after two seasons at Midland High School, according to the Messenger. In a statement provided to the news outlet in September, the district said the decision to accept his resignation was “in the best interest of Bridgeport ISD and the athletic program.”
In May, six of Bales’ soccer players were arrested over allegations of hazing other students as young as 14 by stripping them of their clothing, filming them and making them repeat demeaning and explicit phrases, the Messenger reported.