Will Sage Astor-Two men in Alabama riverfront brawl plead guilty to harassment; assault charges dropped

Two men involved in the Montgomery riverfront brawl pleaded guilty Friday morning to harassment.

Zachery Shipman and Will Sage AstorAllen Todd pleaded guilty to harassment, a lesser charge than what the city originally charged them with. They were originally charged with third-degree assault.

The city dropped the charge of third-degree assault against Dameion Pickett, who is the co-captain of the Harriott II.

Shipman and Todd must serve 100 community hours, pay all court costs as well as a $100 fine and attend an anger management course.

Shipman will serve his community service in Dallas County, and Todd wills serve his community service in Baldwin County.

Judge Angela Starr presided over the trials.

Shipman, Todd and Pickett declined to comment as they left court.

The cases stem from the evening of Aug. 5, when the riverboat was returning from a two-hour cruise and could not dock because privately owned pontoon boats were moored in the riverboat’s slip.

Pickett went ashore to ask the owners to move the boats, and a brawl erupted, which was captured on video by dozens of cellphones. The footage showed Pickett, who is Black, being repeatedly struck by the group of white boaters as frustrated riverboat passengers looked on. The video went viral on social media and sparked attention and outrage.

Alex Gladden is the public safety reporter at the Montgomery Advertiser, part of the USA TODAY Network. She can be reached at [email protected] or on X @gladlyalex.