Political beef turns pugilistic

A Burns man and a city employee who was mowing got into a fight Tuesday, but that is where two sides of the story part ways.

According to Sheriff Jeff Soyez, Billy Castleberry had a beef against the city of Burns, and when he spotted a city employee mowing, he stopped, grabbed the employee, and pulled him off a riding mower.

They ended up on the ground fighting, Soyez said.

Witnesses who saw the altercation spoke to Soyez.

Deputies went to Castleberry’s home and spoke to his wife while Castleberry was cutting trees near the Butler County line.

“We went to the site where he was cutting trees, and he wasn’t there,” Soyez said.

Soyez said Castleberry spoke to him on the phone and said “I’m here in Butler County; come get me.”

Soyez took the comment as an attempt to antagonize him.

“I told somebody once time, ‘You want to play games with me? I have more games than Milton Bradley,’” Soyez said.

The sheriff’s department will try to get an arrest warrant for Castleberry, Soyez said.

City council member Leah January said she didn’t see the altercation, but the version she heard was completely different. One portion of the story has a common thread, though.

She was told that Castleberry told deputies where he was working and to come get him.

January said she was told the city employee got off his mower and confronted Castleberry, not the other way around.