A stick beating over hunger caught on video lands woman behind bars

An altercation over a food stamp card led to the arrest of a 55-year-old woman.

Jina Rather made her initial appearance Wednesday in Comanche County District Court where she received a felony charge of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and a misdemeanor count of domestic abuse – assault and battery, records indicate. The felony is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Lawton police responded shortly before 3 p.m. Monday to 1202 Cache Road and found Rather and a man arguing. Sgt. Patrick Kilgore stated he saw Rather bleeding from the right arm and the back of the head and called for medical personnel. He stated she smelled of alcohol.

Rather told Kilgore she’d gotten into an argument with the man and he’d hit her with a stick, the probable cause affidavit states.

Kilgore spoke to two witnesses who offered more to the story, including video of the incident, according to the affidavit. The witnesses said Rather assaulted the man with a stick. The video showed Rather as the aggressor who assaulted the man while he was sitting down, according to Kilgore.

The man told Kilgore he and Rather were arguing because she was hungry and he’d just received his food stamp card, the affidavit states. He said the argument turned physical when Rather hit him with the stick and he defended himself, Kilgore stated. Two bloody sticks were recovered.

Rather was arrested and records later revealed she has a prior domestic abuse charge from July 2021, according to the affidavit.

Held on $30,000 bond with the order to have no contact with the man, Rather returns to court at 3 p.m. Sept. 11 for her preliminary hearing conference, records indicate.