2 of 5 Montgomery Brawl Assailants Take Plea Deals
Two of the five people arrested for their roles in the viral brawl on a riverfront in Montgomery, Alabama, pleaded guilty on Friday, both avoiding jail time for their actions during the dockside dispute that gained national attention in August.
Richard Roberts pleaded guilty to two assault charges and received a four-month suspended sentence and 100 hours of community service, WSFA 12 reported.
Mary Todd pleaded guilty to harassment and was sentenced to anger management classes in an agreement that requires her to complete the courses within 90 days and pay the court-associated costs, CNN reported.
Todd, a 21-year-old white woman, was filmed kicking a Black riverboat captain during an attack that preceded the melee. Later, as the scuffle escalated, footage showed her getting punched and having her hair pulled.
Todd turned to leave at one point before getting punched to the ground, eventually fleeing to a nearby pontoon boat for safety. Roberts and Todd turned themselves in to police days after the brawl.
Capt. Jim Kittrell, whose Black crewman squared off against a group of white boaters during the conflict, told The Daily Beast in August that the attack was racially motivated.
“The white guys that attacked my deckhand—and he was a senior deckhand first mate—I can’t think of any other reason they attacked him other than it being racially motivated,” Kittrell said. “In my opinion, the attack on Damien was racially motivated.”
Three other defendants arrested after the dockside melee—Zachary Shipman, Allen Todd and Reggie Ray—are awaiting further court dates in November.
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