Dustin Diamond to Start Jail Term in January

The actor, famous for playing Screech on 'Saved by the Bell', was convicted in June of carrying a concealed weapon and disorderly conduct.

December 17, 2015 12:08am

Dustin Diamond Start Jail Term January — AP

PORT WASHINGTON, Wis. (AP) — Former Saved by the Bell actor Dustin Diamond will start serving his four-month jail sentence for an altercation at a Wisconsin bar with work release in January.

WISN-TV and WITI-TV report that Diamond appeared in Ozaukee County court on Wednesday and withdrew his appeal of a disorderly conduct conviction. The sentence begins Jan. 15.

Diamond, who played Screech on the 1990s TV show, was convicted in June of carrying a concealed weapon and disorderly conduct, both misdemeanors. He was cleared of a felony. He was to start jail during the summer, but a judge stayed the sentence pending his appeal.

Diamond testified he was trying to protect his girlfriend when he pulled out a pocketknife at the Port Washington bar last Christmas Day.

Port Washington is 25 miles north of Milwaukee.