‘Saved By The Bell’: Dustin Diamond Delays Jail With Appeal

Saved by the Bell’s Dustin Diamond delayed a court-ordered jail sentence with a filed motion to appeal.

The former child actor and porn star tried a last-minute tactic to keep himself from serving a 120-day stint in jail, starting on Sunday, for stabbing another person in a Port Washington bar on December 25, 2014. Almost ironically, as far as the timing of his appeal, the actor could use the clever expression “saved by the bell.” Dustin Diamond delays jail with appeal, but he has to report to court on Thursday, July 2, according to Fox 6 Now.

The Inquisitr reported the Saved by the Bell actor was ordered to jail, with work release privileges, after he was found guilty of two misdemeanor charges, disorderly conduct and disorderly conduct while armed, on May 29, 2015. Diamond was not found guilty of felony charges.

He claimed, in court, that he was defending his fiancee, Amanda Schutz, during an altercation with another man. Schutz received a $500 fine and was found guilty of one misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct for her assistance in the incident at the Grand Avenue Saloon, according to Fox 6 Now.

The Saved By The Bell actor’s attorney was surprised to hear his client would serve time in jail.

“I think we were hoping for something more lenient. Dustin understands that it’s — it needs to send a message to the community that you just need to calm down, diffuse things. He realizes what he did escalated things, so it had to happen I think.”

“Let me express just how sorry I am that a night that centers around celebrating peace and love could turn into a night of immense regret, for the rest of one’s life,” said Saved by the Bell’s Screech. “Even though my intentions were solely to defend a loved one, they nevertheless were the cause of the single most terrifying experience of my entire life. A night in the emergency room would be infinitely better than facing a future of being seen as a criminal.”

The former actor claimed the incident started when he noticed someone injured his fiancee. Suddenly, everyone knew he was the actor from Saved by the Bell. Dustin Diamond claimed things got out of control quickly as he tried to defend himself and his fiancee from the agitated crowd, but the District Attorney claimed his tale in court was different than the one he told on the night of the incident.

The actor is a far cry from his days working on Saved by the Bell. Dustin Diamond delays jail for now, but he still may face the jail sentence.

[Photo by Jeffrey Phelps/Getty Images Entertainment]