MoreyUnit | Police question man in lawmaker's beating -

Casa Grande police have identified a "person of interest" in the beating and robbery of a Pinal County state legislator.

Phoenix police arrested 34-year-old Hilyard Bardney Scott on an unrelated aggravated-assault warrant Tuesday, and within hours, detectives from Casa Grande were headed to the Valley to question him.

Deputy Chief Don Daniel said the warrant for Scott's arrest stemmed from a Dec. 23 beating, in which "some of the characteristics are similar in nature to what happened in the Pratt case." That incident occurred within a half mile of Rep. Frank Pratt's pool business, where he was attacked on Christmas Day, but Daniel had no further details

Authorities said Pratt was beaten, tied up and robbed by a man who had broken into Pratt Pools and Casa Grande Dive Shop. Late last week, police found the lawmaker's stolen SUV near 19th Avenue and Van Buren Street in Phoenix.

Casa Grande police issued a statement Tuesday saying they do not have evidence to charge Scott in Pratt's assault. DNA and fingerprint evidence collected in the case has been submitted to the state crime lab for processing.

Daniel said Scott is well known to police in Casa Grande but would not elaborate. Records show Scott was released from the Arizona Department of Corrections in November in connection with a 2003 vehicle theft.

Pratt said he's never heard of Scott and is unlikely to be able to identify the person who attacked him.

"It happened very fast," he said. "I don't know that I could put together a good description of the person."

His gold 2007 Yukon was found just blocks away from his parking space at the state House. Casa Grande police have told him the SUV is available to pick up, but he hasn't yet retrieved it.

Pratt, 68, said he doesn't know the whereabouts of his Rolex, which was stolen in the attack. He provided police with the serial number and said he hopes it winds up with a "reputable dealer" who will turn it in.

The second-term District 23 lawmaker attended Gov. Jan Brewer's inauguration Monday at the Capitol, as he had planned, but said Tuesday that he was feeling tired and "may have overdone it a little bit."

"Every day I feel a little bit better," he said. "The soreness is going away."

Pratt praised the police work in the case.

"They're just trying to make sure that they have the right guy," he said. "That's the important thing. We don't want this to happen to anyone else again."