Cotton County commissioner bound over for trial

WALTERS — A Cotton County commissioner was bound over for trial for allegations of using county employees to make campaign signs for him on county time.

Following more than an hour’s testimony and cross-examination of one witness, Cotton County Associate District Judge Michael C. Flanagan bound Cotton County District 1 Commissioner Micah “Mike” Woods, 62, of Walters, over for trial for a felony count of embezzlement.

Tillman County Assistant District Attorney Deanna Hansell, who is prosecuting the case, called Cotton County District 3 Commissioner Milton Honeycutt to testify. Honeycutt formerly worked in District 1 under Woods before taking office in January.

Honeycutt reported the allegations to Cotton County Undersheriff Gary Whittington in August 2022.

Woods and Honeycutt were running for their respective offices in June 2022 primary elections. After being slated for run-off elections on Aug. 25, 2022, Honeycutt testified, Woods brought materials into the county shop in mid-July and asked him, Mitchell Bennett, Billy Tisdale and Lonnie Dorton “if we’d do him a favor.” It was during work hours, shortly after lunch, when the men were gathered in the barn.

All four county employees admitted to investigators to working on the signs on county time.

When Hansell asked why he didn’t say no, Honeycutt had an answer.

“(He’s) My boss,” he replied. “I figured I better do what he said.”

Honeycutt testified Woods brought rebar, squared metal tubing and paint as well as his welder to construct and paint the signs. Honeycutt said the only other county-owned materials he knew of being used was the grinder used to take down the welds before painting the signs which read “Re-elect Mike Woods County Commissioner 1.”

Once completed and assembled after two days of “one to two hours” of work while on Cotton County time, Honeycutt testified, Woods assisted in running wire to string through the signs to keep them solid through wind.

It wasn’t long after the project that Honeycutt said he talked with Tisdale about uneasiness in working on the re-election signs while on the job.

“I felt like it wasn’t right to be doing this on county time,” he testified.

A week or two before the run-off election in August, Honeycutt contacted Whittington and presented him photos he’d taken of the three completed signs inside the county barn. At that time, he testified, he’d grown concerned about the situation while he, too, was running for office.

“I’d heard stuff about them being made in the county barn,” he said.

Later that evening, after Whittington went to Cotton County Sheriff Tim King with Honeycutt’s story, the three met at the church in Cookietown to discuss the complaint.

Woods’ counsel, Carl J. Buckholtz intimated there was a motive in Honeycutt going to King: the sheriff is Honeycutt’s father-in-law. There have also been ongoing issues between King and Woods, Buckholtz said while asking Honeycutt what he knew about it.

“I knew they was having issues,” he said, “but I don’t know what about.”

King contacted the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations (OSBI). Honeycutt said it was only a couple of weeks later that Agent Joe Kimmons contacted him for an interview.

When questioned by Kimmons, Woods denied allowing or asking his employees to build the signs while on county time, according to the probable cause affidavit.

Flanagan concluded the preliminary hearing following Honeycutt’s testimony and determined there was enough probable cause presented to take the case to trial.

Woods remains free on $10,000 bond and returns to court at 1:30 p.m. Aug. 14 for his formal arraignment.