Chair-wielding Montgomery man gets community service after guilty plea
According to the arresting officer's deposition, body camera footage shows Reggie Ray, who is Black, repeatedly hitting a white man and striking a white woman with a folding chair.
A Black man captured on video wielding a folding chair during the viral brawl in Montgomery’s riverfront park has been ordered to perform community service.
Reggie Bernard Ray, 42 at the time of his arrest, pleaded guilty Monday to disorderly conduct and received a 90-day suspended jail term, 50 hours of community service and $357 in court fees, according to AL.com.
The Aug. 5 incident started when the operators of a pontoon boat refused to move their vessel away from where the Harriott II riverboat, filled with passengers, regularly docked. Several white people physically assaulted Dameion Pickett, the Black co-captain of Harriott II, after he and another crew member moved the boat themselves.
According to the arresting officer’s deposition, body camera footage shows Ray, who is Black, repeatedly hitting a white man wearing shorts and no shirt with a folding chair. In another video not mentioned in the deposition, Ray strikes a white woman knocked down on the pier.
Three white men and a white woman pleaded guilty to misdemeanors, and Ray’s was the final case resolved in court. He and his attorney, Virgil Ford, declined to talk to the media as they exited the Municipal Justice Center on Monday.
Richard Roberts of Dallas County pleaded guilty to third-degree assault in October and received 32 days in jail on weekends. In court, Roberts apologized to Pickett and a 16-year-old crew member he hit.
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Mary Todd pleaded guilty to harassment in October. She was given a 15-day suspended sentence, ordered to undergo an anger management program and ordered to pay court costs.
Allen Todd of Baldwin County and Zachary Shipman of Dallas County pleaded guilty to harassment last week after initially facing third-degree assault charges, each receiving a suspended 60-day prison term and a 12-month probation period. They must complete 100 hours of community service, an anger management course and pay a $100 fine and court fees.
As part of the plea deals, the court dropped a third-degree assault charge against Pickett.
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