14 DAY TRIAL // Dustin Diamond, whose name will forever be synonymous to Screech in the iconic comedy series “Saved by the Bell,” is in legal trouble again. He was arrested last December after stabbing a man with a switchblade, and was charged with reckless endangerment and possession of a concealed weapon.
Both he and fiancée Amanda Schutz were in court the other day, for the start of the trial. The cast started on the wrong foot, as the video below proves, but not because of something either did; in fact, it was Diamond’s attorney that was reprimanded.
Defense attorney shows confidence, makes judge angry
Both Diamond and Schutz have Thomas Alberti as their defense attorney. He was the one who made the case start off on the wrong footing, when he drove to court in a car on which he’d written “Good luck, Dustin & Amanda!”
Ozaukee County Judge Paul Malloy saw the car in the parking lot and became very angry when he found out that it belonged to the defense attorney. He gave him 5 minutes to wipe the message off, during which time Alberti spoke to the cameramen outside.
He showed confidence in winning the case, saying he could convince the court that Dustin and Amanda were the real victims, not the man who had been stabbed in the altercation. He wouldn’t elaborate on that.
Dustin Diamond stabbed a man, fled the scene
The incident for which he’s standing trial occurred in December, at a crowded bar in Wisconsin.
Footage shot on a camera phone and then sold to the media, of the minutes prior to the stabbing, showed him and his fiancée enjoying their drinks, and his growing irritation when he noticed some guy was trying to take a photo of him.
He went over to the guy and confronted him about it, and a scuffle ensued. This was when Diamond took out a switchblade, and before anyone could do anything to stop him, he had stabbed the man. He and his fiancé left the bar immediately and were apprehended by police later.
The prosecution told the court that it was Amanda who actually instigated the fight that ended with the victim at the hospital, in need of stitches. According to eyewitnesses, she’d shoved one of the patrons and then, when he tried to respond with violence as well, Diamond took out the switchblade.