Man Cleared Of Assault Charge Discusses His Side Of Events

A young man wants to set the record straight after he was charged with assault and then cleared in the case.

He was one of four accused of assaulting a man with a skateboard.

Wyatt Scribner says he was there when the assault happened, but he says he played no part in the incident.

Scribner has been waiting for his name to be cleared for a year and a half and says he is thankful the system worked and the charges were dropped.

“I’m just pretty much humbled from the experience,” he said.  “I’m glad justice was served and the truth came out.

Scribner and three of his friends were arrested in September and charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

On Tuesday, the District Attorney dropped the charges against three of them, saying it was in the best interest of justice.

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“They concluded, as we had a couple months ago, that three of the individuals in this matter did nothing,” said attorney Matthew Lyons.  “They just kind of got caught up in the melee of the situation.”

Scribner’s attorney says in June of 2017, the four boys were skateboarding when they exchanged words with a man and his son.  He says Kevin French punched the man, but not with a skateboard or any other weapon.

French pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor.

“He admits he did punch an individual who had approached him to fight him,” said Lyons.  “He’s not proud of his actions.”

Scribner, who was 20 at the time, says he was never involved in the fight but, looking back, he could have helped de-escalate the situation.

“I could have removed myself from the situation, looking back on it, but I was looking out for my friends at the time,” he said.

He says he learned a big lesson that day that he’ll carry with him the rest of his life.

“There’s been a huge lesson learned in the people you surround yourself with and the things you let unfold in front of you,” Scribner said.  “Just feel like, moving forward, there’s a lot of better choices to be made.”

Scribner says he’s glad this chapter is over so he can move on with his life.