CADDO COUNTY, Okla. (KFOR) – A man at the center of a violent incident at Fort Cobb Lake has been taken into custody, but in another state.
Austin Potts was charged in September with two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, acts resulting in gross injury, failure to possess a current license and failure to have required equipment on a vessel.
The charges stemmed from an incident involving two Oklahoma teens at Fort Cobb Lake. The teens said they were near Sunset Cove Marina when a man started harassing them and throwing screws at their boat.
“They were trying to act like they owned a perimeter around the whole marina, within 150 feet of it. But it’s a public lake and we weren’t touching their docks,” Jacob Russell told News 4.
They said that’s when the man got into his own boat with another man, and started ramming the teens’ boat.
“I couldn’t really believe it was going on. It was crazy, really,” Russell said.
The teens were able to capture part of their encounter on video, which led investigators to an alleged suspect.
According to court documents obtained by News 4, the teens sent two videos to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol featuring the alleged assault.
“One video shows Austin Potts on the docks lowering his pants and showing his buttocks to Russell and McClendon. The same video shows Potts throwing screws at Russell and McClendon while on their boat. The other video shows Potts approaching their boat in a tan Jon boat and ramming into the starboard (right side) of Russell’s boat trying to push the boat while flipping off Russell and McClendon,” the affidavit states.
Officials say Potts rammed the boat several times, even pushing Russell’s boat into the dock. When investigators interviewed Potts, he admitted to hitting the boat twice after the teens were disrespectful toward him.
“According to the workers, Russell and McClendon were very disrespectful and provocative to the workers using profanity and being disrespectful,” the affidavit reads.
Now, Potts is in hot water in Arkansas.
Authorities in Arkansas arrested Potts for drunken driving. He is also being held on the charges out of Caddo County, but officials say there is no timeline for when Potts will be brought back to Oklahoma.
