Prosecutors charge Tillman County Sheriff, his brother with misdemeanor

Thursday, November 17th 2005, 6:29 am

By: News On 6

FREDERICK, Okla. (AP) -- The sheriff of Tillman County and his brother are charged with misdemeanor counts alleging they assaulted a woman and threatened to kill every black person in the county.

Sheriff Billy Hanes and his brother, Randy Hanes, were charged Wednesday with one count of threatening a violent act based on race or, in the alternative, one count of assault and battery.

According to affidavits, the men verbally threatened to kill Velma Pollard and her 15-year-old son during an altercation on October 28th. They also are accused of pushing Pollard to the floor, getting on top of her and striking her in the face while she was seeking a restraining order at the district attorney's office.

Pollard alleged that Sheriff Hanes came to her house and threatened to kill her son over his relationship with his then 13-year-old daughter.

Sheriff Hanes' attorney Tommy -L- Sims says the case isn't about race, but about a father of his young daughter.