ACTION 8 UPDATE: Harriott II co-captain charged in riverfront brawl
ACTION 8 UPDATE: The co-captain of Montgmery’s Harriott II riverboat has been charged in connection to the brawl that got national attention this summer.
According to city court records, Dameion Pickett is charged with third-degree assault. Zachary Shipman is listed as the complainant in the case. Shipman is one of the people who was charged soon after the fight.
Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed and Montgomery Police Chief Darryl Albert have released a statement, saying:
“Neither the City nor the Montgomery Police Department filed these charges. The Montgomery Police Department’s investigation only lists Mr. Pickett as a victim.”
Five other people were previously charged in the brawl, which happened on Saturday, August 5, as the Harriott II was attempting to dock when the crew saw a private pontoon boat in its spot.
Richard Roberts, 48; Zachery Shipman, 25; Allen Todd, 23; and Mary Todd, 21, were charged with third-degree assault in hitting Pickett. Roberts faced two counts of assault because he also hit a 16-year-old who had helped Pickett get to land.
The charges are misdemeanors. Police have said alcohol was a factor.
In addition, 42-year-old Reggie Ray was charged with disorderly conduct. Police say he was the man shown in video hitting someone with a folding chair.
Pickett described the brawl in a handwritten statement to authorities included in court documents, saying he was attacked after moving a pontoon boat a few feet so the city-owned riverboat could dock in its usual spot after a cruise Saturday night.
Pickett told police that the captain had asked a group on a pontoon boat “at least five or six times” to move from the riverboat’s designated docking space but they responded by “giving us the finger and packing up to leave.” Pickett and another deckhand eventually took a vessel to shore and moved the pontoon boat “three steps to the right,” he wrote.
He said two people ran rushing back, including one cursing and threatening to beat him for touching the boat. Pickett wrote that one of the men shouted that it was public dock space, but Pickett told them it was the city’s designated space for the riverboat. He said he told them he was “just doing my job.” Pickett said he was punched in the face and hit from behind. Pickett said.
“I went to the ground. I think I bit one of them. All I can hear Imma kill you” and beat you, he wrote. He couldn’t tell “how long it lasted” and “grabbed one of them and just held on for dear life,” Pickett wrote.
Reggie Ray – Photo from Montgomery Police Department
Last month, four of the five defendants faced Judge Samarria Dunson in Montgomery’s Municipal Court. Mary Todd, who was the only woman charged in the incident, made a plea agreement with prosecutors. Her original charge of third-degree assault was downgraded to harassment. As part of her guilty plea, Todd will have to pay $357 in court costs and complete anger management classes within the next 90 days.
Richard Roberts agreed to a plea deal midway through his bench trial. He pleaded guilty to two counts of assault in the third degree and was given a suspended sentence of four months of jail time, which he will serve on the weekends in the Perry County Jail. If Roberts violates probation during this time, he will have to serve the full four month sentence. He’ll also have to pay court costs for assaulting Pickett and the 16-year-old deckhand. Roberts is also required to do 100 hours of community service.
Allen Todd and Zachery Shipman have not come to an agreement with prosecutors, so their trial is set for November 16. The other defendant, Reggie Ray, is scheduled to have his hearing on November 16.
Pickett’s arraignment is set for Tuesday, November 21 at 10AM.
