Count filed in stabbing of judge

OKMULGEE, Okla. (AP) -- A woman accused of stabbing an Okmulgee municipal judge has pleaded innocent to assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

Brenda J. Barnett, 39, of Okmulgee, is charged with stabbing Municipal Judge Bill Barksdale on Jan. 5. Barnett is being held in the Okmulgee County Jail in lieu of $155,000 bail.

Her preliminary hearing is scheduled Feb. 1.

Barksdale, 53, was walking to work when Barnett stopped her car, got out of the vehicle and confronted him, Okmulgee Police Detective Todd Spurlock said.

"She said something to him, and he said, `Do you know who I am?"' the detective said. "They got into a shoving match, and she stabbed him."

The judge was stabbed twice with a double-edge "dagger-type"

knife, Okmulgee Police Chief Ed Humphreys said. He suffered wounds to the left elbow and left shoulder, he said.

Barksdale was taken to Okmulgee Memorial Hospital, where he was treated and released.

Barnett has previously appeared in court at least three times, Spurlock said. Counts of fighting in public and assault and battery were dismissed without prejudice -- meaning they can be refiled, an official said.