Jury trials are scheduled for two Kay County Detention Center jailers who are accused of assaulting an inmate in the Kay County Jail in Newkirk on September 26, 2018.
21 -year-old Zane Jadon Dewayne Vandaveer, and 30-year-old Danial Allan Vandaveer were charged on October 31, 2018 with misdemeanor assault and battery after they were reportedly caught on video head butting and punching inmate Christopher Branham on September 26, 2018. Attorney Scott Loftis entered his appearance on behalf of the pair on January 9 where Judge Jennifer Brock scheduled a jury trial in the matter at 9 a.m. on May 14 of this year. A pretrial conference is scheduled for May 3 and the witness and exhibit lists are due by April 22.
Officials report that Danial is accused of head butting Branham while he was in a restraint chair and Zane is accused of punching Branham 14 times along with kneeing him in the face. Branham was charged with two felony accounts of prisoner placing body fluid on government employee and two felony counts of assault and battery on a police officer. On January 4, Branham entered no contest pleas to the charges and was sentenced to 10 years in prison with all but five years suspended. In a burglary case filed against him on September 6, 2018, he was sentenced to seven years in prison with all but five years suspended. He was given credit for time served.
