By Tom Kertscher
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
PORT WASHINGTON, Wis. — Dustin Diamond, who played Screech on the 1990s TV show “Saved by the Bell,” was charged Friday with felony recklessly endangering safety in connection with a stabbing incident on Christmas night at a bar in Port Washington, where he lives.
Also charged, with misdemeanor disorderly conduct, was a woman who identified herself as Diamond’s live-in fiancée.
According to a criminal complaint from the Ozaukee County district attorney’s office and a statement from Port Washington police:
A bartender at Grand Avenue Saloon called police about 11:15 p.m. Thursday saying a patron had pulled a knife and then left the bar in a sport-utility vehicle. An officer pulled over the vehicle a short distance away. Amanda Schutz, 27, was driving and the 37-year-old Diamond was the passenger. The officer found a stiletto folding knife with a 3.75-inch blade inside with a moist substance on it.
Schutz told the officer that Diamond normally carries the knife for protection. They had been at The Patio bar in Port Washington for several hours before going to Grand Avenue, she said.
Patrons at Grand Avenue told police there was an altercation involving Schutz, Diamond and several other patrons. One witness said his brother was stabbed by Diamond. An officer observed a half-inch puncture mark in the man’s right armpit.
The victim told police he had pushed Diamond during the altercation and that Diamond had swung at him, but that he didn’t see a knife and initially didn’t realize he had been cut. The man was treated by an ambulance crew at his home.
Diamond initially told police he had been wielding a pen, but later said it was a knife.
Diamond is being held in the Ozaukee County Jail. He appeared in court Friday afternoon, and was scheduled for a status hearing on Monday. Schutz was booked and released.
TMZ.com first reported the incident.
Online court records indicate this is Diamond’s first criminal case in Wisconsin, although he has been involved in a number of court cases involving debts. The latest, for a judgment of $40,000, was filed against him in August.
©2014 the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel