Christopher Allen Scott, a 58-year-old Grand Rapids man was arrested recently for threatening people at a bar. But, according to the Grand Rapids Police Department who conducted the arrest, this isn’t the first time Scott has acted out his frustrations in a public setting. In fact, he apparently has quite a history of disruptive behavior in downtown Grand Rapids.
According to court documents, Scott entered the Apartment Lounge, which is a popular bar on Sheldon Avenue NE catering to the GLBT community. After an undisclosed period of time, he left the bar and went instead to the store. Why? To purchase a baseball bat.
Taking his newly acquired bat with him, Scott returned to the Apartment Lounge and then proceeded to slam the bat into the bar counter angrily, exclaiming that he intended to “bash the next gay stick” that entered the room.
In Scott’s own words, when explaining the incident to Kent County Circuit Court Judge Dennis Leiber, he said “Some people were pretty nervous about the whole thing”. The judge, it seems, was unimpressed. “Is gay-bashing your habit?” he asked Scott. “No, your honor,” Scott replied, “It was random. I was there in 2005 and treated nicely.”
Leibler sentenced Scott to nine months for his felonious assault
Leibler sentenced Scott to nine months in the Kent County Jail for his felonious assault conviction, which is a considerably shorter sentence than a person usually gets for felony assault, which under state law is usually punishable by four years in prison up to a lifetime.
Scott’s history of pernicious behavior includes two misdemeanor convictions for trespassing, and a drunk driving arrest that took place on the same night as the fateful baseball bat incident. Also, in 2012 he was sentenced to a year in prison for malicious destruction of police property and domestic violence.
Under Michigan law, felonious assault is defined as the attempt to cause physical injury to another person; either using your own body, for example: a fist, or using an object, like a baseball bat or a gun. Even if you miss while striking and make no contact with the potential victim, the law still sees it as assault.