Reality TV star Ethan Treadwell has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for his 2024 “debilitating” attack on his elderly landlord.
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Per court records obtained by PEOPLE, the former Ultimate Cowboy Showdown contestant’s prison sentence was 25 years with 15 years suspended. He was previously charged with maiming his landlord, William “Junior” Hicks, in Kiowa County, Oklahoma, in 2024.
Treadwell was initially charged with aggravated assault and battery. However, those charges were reduced after he entered a guilty plea.
Hicks previously revealed that he had leased his land to Treadwell for seven years before serving him with an eviction notice in late 2023. Although he agreed to the terms and stopped paying rent, Treadwell continued to do his business on the land.
In January 2024, Hicks confronted Treadwell after he noticed the reality TV star removing cattle from the land and demanded he stop. Treadwell then “without provocation” beat Hicks into an “unconscious state.”
During the fight, Treadwell allegedly hit Hicks “10 to 15 times and kicked his face repeatedly.” First responders rushed Hicks to Comanche County Memorial Hospital in Lawton following the attack.
Hicks revealed that he was left with “severe, debilitating, and permanent” injuries following the beating.
During his August 5 court appearance, Treadwell personally apologized to Hicks for the attack. He said he wished the events had never happened.
He has a restitution hearing set for October.
Treadwell Competed on the First Season of ‘Ultimate Cowboy Showdown’
Treadwell rose to fame while competing on INSP’s reality TV show Ultimate Cowboy Showdown.
The show, hosted by country music superstar Trace Adkins, focused on wrangling and sorting cattle, roping, and horsemanship skills. Winners were awarded $50,000 at the end of the season.
During the show’s first season, Treadwell competed alongside Jason Davis from Washington DC, Cuatro Houston and J Storme Jannise from Texas, Hadley Hunting from Wyoming, Jared Lee from Florida, Derek Lacasa and Juan Carlos Villalpando from California, Cole Sandau from North Dakota, Tara Powers from Iowa, Cody Brewer from Tennessee, and Zane Runyan from New Mexico.
Runyan was dubbed the winner at the end of the season.
During the show, one of the judges said Treadwell was “a little abrasive at times.” He had been eliminated following a three-mile herding journey.
He later returned in season 4 as an “all-star.”