Getty ImagesUPDATE: Police have released more details about Dustin Diamond's arrest, while the actor has been charged formally in court.
__________________________
Dustin Diamond, best known for playing Screech on Saved by the Bell, has been arrested and charged in Port Washington, Wisconsin for allegedly stabbing a man during a confrontation in a bar.
The 37-year-old actor was detained late on Thursday, Christmas Day, and booked in a jail on a $1,000 bond the following morning, on Boxing Day, in Ozaukee County.
He appeared in court in the afternoon. Diamond was charged with second-degree recklessly endangering the safety of another person, carrying a concealed weapon and disorderly conduct, use of a dangerous weapon, all of which are misdemeanors, police said in a statement to E! News.
"At approximately 11:15 p.m. on Thursday, December 25, 2014, the Port Washington Police Department responded to the Grand Ave. Saloon for reports of a stabbing," police said in a statement. "Evidence quickly gathered at the scene indicates a male, age 37, had stabbed another male patron and left the bar in a white SUV with his 27-year-old girlfriend. Officers quickly located the suspect vehicle and suspects and took both into custody."
"Further investigation revealed the suspects were in the Grand Ave Saloon where an altercation took place. The altercation escalated to the point where a victim was stabbed by the 37-year-old suspect. The knife was recovered in his vehicle," the statement added. "The victim suffered not life threatening wounds, has been treated, and is recovering at home."
"Dustin Diamond's 27-year-old girlfriend was charged with disorderly conduct, a class B misdemeanor, " police said.
Diamond, who was born in California and lives in Wisconsin, has not commented.
The actor and former child star played nerdy, zany Samuel "Screech" Powers on the morning teen sitcom Saved by the Bell on all of its four seasons, from 1989 to 1993, and reprised his role in its TV movies and in two spinoffs, Saved by the Bell: The College Years and Saved by the Bell: The New Class, which ended in 2000.
He documented his experiences on the original show, one of America's favorites, in a tell-all book, Behind the Bell, that was released in 2009. It was adapted into a Lifetime Television Movie, The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story, which aired in September.
After his Saved by the Bell run, Diamond continued acting, mainly in comedy films such as Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star and small-budget films, and still does today. He also appeared on the reality show Celebrity Fit Club and on Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling.
In 2006, a sex tape featuring the actor, titled Screeched – Saved by the Smell, was released.
He talked about on a 2013 episode of Oprah Winfrey's show Oprah: Where Are They Now?."
"The sex tape is the thing that I'm most embarrassed about," he said.
"In my stupidity, I thought, 'You know, I could totally fake this. I could get a stunt person to take my place,'" he added. "It's my face, but nothing else. Looking back now, in my 30s, I realize that was really dumb. You know, I definitely got some money off of it but it wasn't worth what the fallout was. I mean, people, to this day, they look down on me. There's a lot of people who are like, 'Oh, how disgusting of you.' I didn't really do it!"
He also talked about his post-Saved by the Bell life in a 2013 interview with the magazine Yes! Weekly.
"I've never been arrested, I don't smoke, I don't drink, I'm not a druggie and I've never committed any crimes," he was quoted as saying, adding, "I've made some decisions for shock value."
—Reporting by Holly Passalaqua