Actor Dustin Diamond not guilty of felony in stabbing case

Send a link to a friend  Share

[May 30, 2015]  (Reuters) - A Wisconsin jury late on Friday found actor Dustin Diamond, who played the nerdy Screech in the early '90s sitcom "Saved by the Bell," not guilty of a felony charge stemming from the stabbing of a man during a Christmas bar fight, court records show.

After several hours of deliberation, jurors found Diamond, 38, not guilty of recklessly endangering public safety, but guilty on two misdemeanor counts of carrying a concealed weapon and disorderly conduct over the Dec. 25 incident, Ozaukee County Circuit Court records showed.

The criminal complaint alleges that Diamond's fiancée, Amanda Schutz, 27, pushed a woman who was harassing her and Diamond on Christmas night at the Grand Avenue Saloon in Port Washington, Wisconsin, north of Milwaukee.

In a fight that ensued, Diamond stabbed a man with a switchblade, causing a wound that was not life-threatening, according to the complaint and to the police.

Schutz was also found guilty on a charge of disorderly conduct on Friday, according to court records.

An attorney for the couple could not be immediately reached for comment on Friday night.

Diamond, who lives in Port Washington, played socially awkward but brainy student Samuel "Screech" Powers, memorable for his dark and wiry hair, in "Saved by the Bell," which ran from 1989 to 1993.

Since then, he has had a number of smaller television roles and has made appearances on reality programs and game shows.

The couple is scheduled to be sentenced on June 25, according to court records.

(Reporting by Curtis Skinner in San Francisco; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

 

Back to top