HOBART – A Kiowa County man who appeared in the TV reality series Ultimate Cowboy Showdown is due back in court Jan. 22 for a preliminary hearing on a felony charge of aggravated assault and battery in the savage beating of an elderly Kiowa County landowner.
Ethan Patrick Treadwell, 41, is accused of assaulting William Halbert Hicks Jr., 73, on Jan. 30, 2024. Both men live outside of Mountain Park.
Treadwell first appeared in Kiowa County District Court on Feb. 2. District Judge Ricky A. Marsh set bail for Treadwell at $50,000 and ordered him to have no contact with any witnesses in the case, nor with the victim or the victim’s family.
An affidavit relates that Kiowa County Sheriff Joe Janz told Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Daniel Perkins that when he arrived on the scene Jan. 30, he found Hicks, Treadwell, and Treadwell’s ex-wife Kendall Elaine Cross.
Treadwell and Cross were gathering cattle on property in the vicinity of County Road 1620 and County Road 2290, near Snyder, that’s owned by Hicks and leased by Treadwell. On the Ultimate Cowboy Showdown website, Treadwell claims in his biography that he “ran 15 to 20 thousand head of cattle for his family’s operation.”
“Hicks approached Treadwell’s vehicle” and confronted him about money he is owed for the lease. Hicks allegedly raised a pair of pliers during his conversation with Treadwell, who was sitting in his pickup.
The affidavit further claims: Treadwell got out of the truck and hit Hicks, knocking him to the ground. While Hicks was down, Treadwell hit and kicked him, causing Hicks to lose consciousness. Cross later said Treadwell hit Hicks “10 to 15 times and kicked his face repeatedly…” Cross called 911 about 12:30 p.m. that day, and an ambulance arrived and transported Hicks to Comanche County Memorial Hospital in Lawton. From there he was airlifted by medi- flight to the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences medical center in Oklahoma City.
Perkins said he spoke to Hicks’ daughter via telephone and she said her father sustained traumatic brain injury, an orbital “blowout” of his right eye, a broken nose, and some teeth were knocked out. Hicks was placed on a ventilator for several hours and needed facial surgery, Ms. Hicks reported.
Janz said Treadwell “told him he was involved in a fight with Hicks” over a debt and “Hicks came at him with a pair of pliers,” so Treadwell felt he “had to defend himself…” Ultimate Cowboy Showdown is an American TV reality series in which contestants compete in a variety of areas, such as wrangling and sorting cattle, roping and horsemanship skills. The show has been broadcast in the United States on INSP and streaming platforms YouTube, Prime and Peacock. It first aired in October 2019 and is hosted by singer/ actor Trace Adkins. Treadwell appeared in the first season.
In the last two months of 2023, judgments totaling $73,450 were awarded against Ethan Patrick Treadwell in Tillman County District Court.