District Attorney Office Press Release

On Wednesday, January 11, a Henderson County jury sentenced Manuel Clerkley, 41, of Palestine, to Life in the penitentiary for a June 9th, 2009 early morning crash that left his 21 year-old niece and mother of two, Michelle Coaster, dead. The crash occurred shortly before 9 a.m., in the 600 block of South Palestine Street near the intersection of Ben Bent Drive. Athens Police Department reports stated Clerkley was northbound in a 1994 Plymouth Acclaim that went out of control and crossed the southbound lanes before leaving the roadway and colliding head-on with a tree.
A woman, who stopped at the traffic signal at Ben Belt and South Palestine, reportedly saw the accident and described it to police.

Coaster died at East Texas Medical Center, Athens a few hours after the wreck. Clerkley was taken

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Special to The News

Dallas Andrew Fidler, 27, formerly of Seven Points, was sentenced Monday to 35 years in prison by 173rd District Court Judge Dan Moore in connection with the aggravated sexual assault of two children. Fidler elected to have the judge assess his sentence rather than a jury.

Fidler’s jury trial came to an abrupt end in October, when after four days of a jury trial he decided to change his plea from “not-guilty” to “guilty,” rather than have the jury assess his guilt. Fidler was on trial for two

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