2 plead guilty to reduced charge in riverfront brawl

2 plead guilty to reduced charge in riverfront brawl

Two defendants in Montgomery’s riverfront brawl in August pleaded guilty Friday to a reduced charge that does not require jail time.

As part of the agreement, the city dismissed a charge against a third defendant, Harriott II riverboat co-captain Dameion Pickett, who was attacked and beaten during the Aug. 5 fighting.

Zachery Shipman of Dallas County and Allen Todd of Baldwin County appeared in court Friday morning and agreed to the plea deal before Montgomery Municipal Judge Angela Starr. Pickett also appeared. Shipman had filed the complaint that led to the charge against Pickett.

All three men had been charged with third-degree assault, a misdemeanor.

The brawl drew national attention because the cellphone videos showed Pickett, who is Black, being attacked by white people on the dock. Some witnesses said they heard racial slurs during the fighting. A folding chair used in the attack also became a national meme.

On Friday morning, Shipman and Todd pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of harassment. They received a suspended 60-day jail sentence and 12 months on probation. They were ordered to perform 100 hours of community service, complete an anger management course, and pay a $100 fine and court costs. The court could end the probation period early, after a review in six months.

Shipman and Todd did not speak to reporters after the court session. Pickett declined to comment.

The fighting, captured in cellphone videos, happened when the Harriott II riverboat, loaded with passengers from a Saturday cruise, approached the dock in Montgomery’s riverfront park.

A pontoon boat was parked in the riverboat’s docking spot. The fighting erupted after operators of the pontoon boat refused to move it and Pickett and another riverboat crew member moved the boat.

In October, Richard Roberts of Dallas County pleaded guilty to third-degree assault and was given a four-month suspended sentence, with 32 days to serve in jail on weekends, 100 hours of community service, and court costs. Roberts apologized to Pickett in court and to a 16-year-old boy who was a riverboat crew member who Roberts struck when the boy tried to help Pickett.

Also in October, Mary Todd pleaded guilty to harassment, received a 15-day suspended sentence and was ordered to complete an anger management course.

Reggie Ray, seen in a video striking a man with a folding chair, was charged with disorderly conduct and is scheduled for trial on Monday.

Montgomery Police Chief Darryl Albert has previously said police “looked at every avenue” and left “no stone unturned” but “were unable to present any insight in a riot or racial racially biased charges at this time.”