Man Pleads Not Guilty To Threatening Buyout Officials

MIAMA, Okla. (AP) -- A Picher man is pleading not guilty to charges of threatening a state official and members of the federal Tar Creek buyout committee.<br/><br/>Gene Ragsdale is charged in Ottawa County

Thursday, July 19th 2007, 10:37 am

By: News On 6

MIAMA, Okla. (AP) -- A Picher man is pleading not guilty to charges of threatening a state official and members of the federal Tar Creek buyout committee.

Gene Ragsdale is charged in Ottawa County District Court in Miami with assault with a dangerous weapon.

He's accused of waving a 9 millimeter pistol toward JD Strong, Mike Sexton and Doctor Mark Osborn following a Tar Creek buyout meeting last week.

Strong is chief of staff for the state's secretary of the environment while Sexton and Osborn are members of the trust that's overseeing the buyout of homes and businesses in the Tar Creek Superfund site in northeast Oklahoma.

Related story:

7/16/2007 - Man Accused Of Threatening Buyout Officials