CREDIT: PROVIDED TO TSR BY MPD PIO MAJOR SABA COLEMAN
Allen Todd, 23, and Zachery Shipman, 25, have joined Richard Roberts, 48, in police custody on misdemeanor assault charges. Roberts faces two counts in the third degree, while Todd and Shipman face one each in the third degree. The three men allegedly initiated the viral Montgomery Riverfront fight on Aug. 5.
However, in collaboration with the local FBI, the Montgomery Police Department determined there wasn’t enough to upgrade charges to inciting a riot or a hate crime.
At Tuesday’s press conference (Aug. 8), Police Chief Darryl Albert revealed Roberts was in custody with the Selma Police Department. They expected to transfer him to Montgomery that day. Shipman and Todd were also expected to surrender on Tuesday but, for unclear reasons, did not.
According to MPD’s public information officer, Major Saba Coleman, the men turned themselves in on Wednesday, Aug. 9. It’s unclear which local department and jail police are holding the suspects.
The Shade Room has requested additional information on these arrests and the status of charges, if any, against Reggie Ray, 42.
Viral footage and screenshots show the 42-year-old hit two assumed pontoon boat riders with a white folding chair. On Tuesday, the MPD chief requested that Ray contact them in 24 hours.
Video captured Todd, Shipman, and Roberts assaulting the co-captain of the Harriott II Riverboat, Dameion Pickett. Clips also showed Roberts assaulting a 16-year-old white male, per MPD’s investigation. The teen’s mother filed an arrest warrant against Roberts.
On the day of the attack, Pickett and his co-captain repeatedly requested that the suspects move their pontoon boat from the riverboat’s designated spot. They were initially using a PA system to communicate. Met with profanity, obscene gestures, curse words, and taunting, Pickett enlisted the help of the juvenile to transport him to the dock. The youth was operating a small, independent boat.
By this point, police say, the riverboat carrying over 200 passengers had been waiting to dock for 40-45 minutes. When Pickett attempted to manually and “gently,” per the police chief, move the boat, an aggressive confrontation ensued with the boaters.
Law enforcement detained 13 people, including the charged suspects and Ray, on Aug. 5. After hours of interviews, police released all the detainees. Dameion Pickett was treated for injuries at a local hospital that evening.
