Local & State Headlines

Lee judge threatened

• Threatening a field judge who is a magistrate turns out to be a bad call for a competitor.

J.D. Sumner

ALBANY — An Albany man was charged Monday after Lee County’s chief magistrate told police the man threatened him during a flag football game, police reports show.

Rusty Hayes, 34, was charged with disorderly conduct Monday afternoon after police say he charged and threatened violence against Lee County Chief Magistrate Jim Thurman, who was officiating a flag football game at Phoebe Healthworks on Third Avenue.

He was issued a citation and released, police reports show.

According to police reports, Hayes was a member of a flag football team competing at the facility Monday afternoon. Thurman, who was serving as a referee during the game, ejected Hayes after Thurman said he committed his second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

Already angry for what he told police were “numerous bad calls,” Hayes admitted to police that there had been a verbal exchange between him and Thurman but that he never hit or tried to fight the judge, the reports show.

Thurman, along two other referees, told police that as he was marking off the penalty, Hayes charged him while yelling, “I’ll whip your (expletive) all over this field,” and had to be restrained to prevent him from striking Thurman.

Describing the judge as “irate,” police noted that Thurman refused to submit a written statement on a form, telling officers “he was not writing a statement on a form where he is being treated like a victim,” police reports show.

Phoebe Healthworks offers competitive activities like flag football, to help Phoebe employees and their spouses stay active and in shape, Phoebe spokesperson Valerie Benton said.

Benton said Hayes was a spouse of an employee of Phoebe.

“We obviously don’t condone this type of behavior,” Benton said.