OPRF Teacher, Ex-Baseball Coach, Arrested On Cocaine Charge: Cops

BRIDGEVIEW, IL -- An Oak Park-River Forest High School teacher was arrested in Bridgeview after police found cocaine in his car during a traffic stop, prosecutors said. Christian Ledbetter, 47, of Elmhurst, appeared before Cook County Judge Michael Kane on a charge of possession of a controlled substance.

Bridgeview police observed a vehicle make a left turn without signaling around 10:19 p.m. July 24 in the 7900 block of South Harlem Avenue. The driver, later identified as Ledbetter, was pulled over. When he allegedly could not provide a valid driver's license, he was taken into custody. Officers searched Ledbetter’s vehicle, where police found white powder inside a cigarette pack in the driver’s side door, the prosecutor said. The white powder turned out to be 1.5 grams of cocaine, according to the charges.

Ledbetter has no prior criminal background. The assistant public defender told the judge that Ledbetter has been an “educator and coach” for the past 20 years at Oak Park-River Forest High School, although the attorney was at first reluctant to reveal the name of the school in open court.

“If you don’t tell me I’m not going to give you what you want,” Kane said.

The judge released Ledbetter on a $20,000 I-bond. Kane also ordered him to submit to drug testing “every two weeks” while his case is pending. Ledbetter’s next court date is Aug. 15 in Bridgeview.

“You’re educated, you’re gainfully employed and you live in a nice suburb,” the judge said. “Hire a lawyer.”

According to Wednesday Journal, Ledbetter was removed as the Huskies’ head baseball coach at OPRF under murky circumstances March, despite an overall win-loss record of 443-170-2. Several OPRF baseball parents had expressed concerns about the veteran coach’s “peculiar mannerisms” and “extremely harsh verbal treatment of players.” Other parents praised Ledbetter’s coaching abilities.

An OPRF High School spokeswoman confirmed that Ledbetter was still employed as a physical education teacher. Ledbetter and his attorney filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Illinois Department of Human Rights in an attempt to get reinstated as the Huskies’ head baseball coach, Wednesday Journal reported.

~ Top photo courtesy of Wednesday Journal