Public intoxication charge dismissed against Oklahoma secretary of state

OKLAHOMA CITY — A misdemeanor charge of public intoxication against Oklahoma’s secretary of state has been dismissed with costs, the City of Edmond said Wednesday.

A dismissal notice states Benjamin Michael Lepak is “verifiably engaged in services more appropriate than those provided through the (municipal) Court,” city spokesperson Emily Ward said. 

Oklahoma Voice filed an open records request Wednesday seeking a copy of the dismissal notice, but the city had not yet provided it as of publication. Ward said she had no further details beyond what is in the notice.

Lepak, 42, said Wednesday he had no comment on the services or the dismissal. He said he did not know how much he paid in court costs.

City records show Lepak would have owed $280 on the date of his arraignment, which had been scheduled for Thursday.

He was arrested and booked into the Edmond city jail the night of Aug. 14 on a complaint of public intoxication. Police officers were called to a McDonald’s at 10:45 p.m. where Lepak was standing outside.

Lepak had “extremely slurred speech,” the odor of alcohol on his breath and was unable to maintain a coherent train of thought while answering questions, according to a police report of the arrest. He told police he had arrived from a church gathering, and though he initially denied consuming alcohol, he later said he had a beer but didn’t finish it, the arresting officer reported.

His vehicle was parked at the restaurant, and “it was apparent that Lepak drove to the location,” the report states. He was not charged with driving under the influence.

Lepak has faced alcohol-related charges twice before, records show.

Edmond police arrested him in 2022 on a public intoxication complaint after finding Lepak’s car stopped on East Danforth Road with a damaged front tire, according to a police report.

The officer discovered Lepak had slurred speech and swayed where he stood, the report states. Lepak told the officer someone had run him off the road and he swerved to avoid them. He said he was almost home from a “work thing” where he drank a beer, according to the report.

Municipal court records show Lepak pleaded no contest to the 2022 charge.

In 2021, he pleaded guilty in Oklahoma County District Court to misdemeanor charges of having actual physical control of a vehicle while intoxicated and transporting an open container of beer, according to court records. 

He received a one-year deferred sentence, probation and a six-month requirement to have an interlock device installed in his vehicle, records show.

A police officer in The Village had found him asleep behind the wheel of a pickup truck parked by the side of Plymouth Lane, records show. He failed both a field sobriety test and a breathalyzer test, according to the officer’s report.

Gov. Kevin Stitt appointed Lepak as secretary of state in October 2025. He previously served as Stitt’s general counsel.

Senior reporter Barbara Hoberock contributed to this report.