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Court Finds Probation Violation But Denies Revocation for James Arlington Cole; Orders BIP Restart and No-Contact Restrictions
Summary
The court found a violation of probation condition 14(g) for James Arlington Cole but declined the state's request to revoke deferred adjudication. The judge ordered the defendant to restart a battering intervention and prevention program, barred contact with a named person and minors, and restricted out-of-state travel.
The court found that James Arlington Cole committed a violation of condition 14(g) of his community supervision but denied the state's motion to revoke his deferred adjudication, instead imposing additional conditions and requiring the defendant to restart a battering intervention and prevention (BIP) program.
The ruling matters because the state had urged revocation and a prison sentence; the court instead weighed program completion and payment issues and set alternatives intended to address the court's public-safety concerns while keeping Cole on community supervision.
State prosecutors told the court they sought full revocation; their written recommendation asked the court to adjudicate guilt and sentence Cole to six years in TDC. Defense attorney Michael De Leon said Cole had completed 11 of 12 BIP sessions and that the program had exited him for nonpayment. A progress report noted 11 of 12 sessions attended and an outstanding balance; the report did not show completion of the final class.
After hearing argument, the court found the single allegation alleged in the motion—violation of condition 14(g) for failing to complete a mandated program—true. The court declined to revoke, saying it would not be appropriate to send a person to prison who had completed nearly the entire program when the remaining session was delayed for lack of payment. The court instead ordered that Cole restart the BIP course and complete the remaining session(s).
The court imposed several explicit conditions: no contact with Tamisha Singleton; no residing with minors; no unsupervised contact with minors; and a prohibition on travel into the state of North Carolina unless Cole is “legally ordered” to be there by a court. The court told Cole that he must restart the BIP course within 15 days and warned that further violations could lead to revocation.
Michael De Leon told the court Cole is employed, holds a commercial driver’s license and has been consistently testing negative on supervised tests; the defense asked the court to continue deferred adjudication with conditions and to avoid incarceration. The state argued the nonpayment and elapsed time since the missed class weighed against continued leniency and asked for a jail sanction if the court did not revoke.
The court also referenced related docket entries and an earlier filing titled “motion to enter adjudication of guilt and revoke community supervision” (filed 06/12/2025) that prompted the hearing. The court denied the motion to revoke and set the above conditions and reporting requirements.
The case will proceed under the modified terms of community supervision; the defendant remains on deferred adjudication and must comply with the restart of BIP and the new contact and travel restrictions. The court signaled that future violations could prompt reconsideration of revocation.
