Actor Dustin Diamond, who portrayed Screech on the cult TV sitcom Saved By the Bell, was arrested shortly after Christmas early Friday morning following a stabbing incident at a bar in Port Washington, Wisconsin. Diamond was charged with felony second-degree recklessly endangering safety, disorderly conduct and carrying a concealed weapon while his live-in fiance Amanda Schutz was booked with misdemeanor disorderly conduct.
According to documents obtained by ABC News, Diamond and his fiance were bar-hopping before landing at the Grand Ave. Saloon, where they were confronted by a group of intoxicated people being rude and insulting. BBC News writesthat Diamond and Schutz got into a fight with two men and another woman. First Schutz was bloodied after fighting the other woman, at which point chaos broke out and people were grabbing at [Diamond]. It was during the melee that the stabbing incident took place.
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After the fight, one of the men noticed a half-inch puncture mark in his right armpit, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports. Police arrived on the scene observed a significant amount of blood but the injury wasnt considered life-threatening. Diamond and Schutz had already left the scene by the time police arrived; authorities caught up to Diamonds SUV soon after. Inside the car, police found a stiletto-folding knife with a 3.75-inch blade with blood still on the tip, BBC News writes.
During questioning, Diamond provided conflicting answers, first admitting to the stabbing but addingit was accidental, and that he couldnt remember if he stabbed the man with a knife or a pen. He also said that he carried around the switchblade for self-defense, and that he brandished the knife to protect Schutz during the confrontation. Diamond next appeared at Ozaukee County court where bail was set at $10,000. The actors next hearing was scheduled for Monday, December 29th.
If found guilty, the felony second-degree recklessly endangering safety charge could result in up to 10 years in jail, ABC News writes. Although this is Diamonds first criminal case in the state of Wisconsin, the actor has been plagued by money problems since the end of the Saved By the Bell franchise, with his Wisconsin home being on the verge of foreclosure three times in the past five years according to TMZ.