HOBART – The felony charge filed against a Kiowa County cattleman accused of the brutal beating of an elderly Kiowa County landowner has been amended to maiming.
Ethan Patrick Treadwell, 41, who appeared in the TV reality series Ultimate Cowboy Showdown, was charged initially with aggravated assault and battery on William Halbert Hicks Jr., 73, on Jan. 30, 2024. Both men live outside of Mountain Park.
The complaint was amended Jan. 21, and Treadwell’s preliminary hearing was continued to April 23 in Kiowa County District Court. Treadwell is free on $50,000 bond, under a court order to have no contact with any witnesses in the case, nor with the victim or the victim’s family.
Under state law, the sentence for maiming another person is up to life in prison and/or a fine of up to $1,000.
An affidavit relates that Kiowa County Sheriff Joe Janz told Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Daniel Perkins that on Jan. 30, 2024, 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 claimed 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…” Treadwell’s ex-wife called 911and an ambulance arrived and transported Hicks to Comanche County Memorial Hospital in Lawton. From there he was airlifted to the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences medical center in Oklahoma City.
Perkins said he spoke to Hicks’s 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.