Events
'Real World' left behind real legal problems
Two criminal cases involving cast members pending
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Saturday, November 26, 2005
The cast of "Real World: Austin" left town in May and the final episode of the reality television series aired on MTV on Tuesday, but there's a sequel — Real World: the court cases.
The show, which threw seven college-aged strangers together in a converted downtown Austin warehouse and filmed their every move, has spun off two assault cases — one cast member was a victim, another is now a defendant — and a public intoxication charge against a third cast member that was later dropped.
"They had a really hard time here in Austin," said Austin defense lawyer Kristin Etter, who represents cast member Nehemiah Clark in a pending misdemeanor assault case.
"What he says is they were picked on every single night here in Austin. People would throw things from windows, push them when they were walking down the street, and people would do these kinds of things with the intention of provoking them."
In the most serious of the three cases, 29-year-old Austinite Ryan Getman is accused of punching and seriously injuring cast member Danny Jamieson, 22, during a Sixth Street fracas in January.
Getman is charged with two felony counts of aggravated assault in the incident, which MTV showed during the first episode of the "Real World: Austin" in June.
During the episode, Jamieson and his roommate Wes — whose last name wasn't used on the show — left a Sixth Street bar looking for another roommate when, for reasons that were unclear, several young men approached them and began pushing and arguing with them. One of the men pulled Jamieson to the ground and another came into view and punched Jamieson, who didn't see it coming. That man's face was blurred during the episode.
Court documents filed by Austin police say the man who threw the punch was Getman, who now faces up to 20 years in prison on each count. Getman is free pending trial after posting $15,000 bond. His lawyer could not be reached for comment.
According to a police affidavit, the show's producers gave police a video of the incident. Jamieson, a construction worker from Billerica, Mass., needed surgery after his eye socket was crushed in the attack and he continues to see an eye doctor for vision problems, a police affidavit said.
"I think about him every day," Jamieson said of his attacker on an episode in which he was reporting details to police. "My eye hurts every day and I want him to think about what he did and not brag about it."
He couldn't be reached for this story. A "Real World" spokeswoman did not return a call for comment.
In the other assault case, Clark, 20, is accused of punching the owner of the Best Wurst, a local sausage cart that caters to the late night crowd.
The aspiring filmmaker from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., was arrested after the 2 a.m. incident on April 29 near the stand on the corner of Sixth and San Jacinto streets.
According to a police affidavit, employees of the Best Wurst flagged down two police officers, who saw Clark arguing with Best Wurst owner Jon Notarthomas. The officers saw Clark appear to challenge Notarthomas to a fight by "waving his arms toward himself" and raising and clenching his fists, the affidavit says.
In a recent interview, Notarthomas said that Clark was yelling: "You ain't never going to be on the 'Real World' " to others gathered near the sausage stand.
As the officers walked toward the men, Notarthomas looked away and Clark punched Notarthomas in the side of the face, the affidavit says. He was arrested and spent 12 hours in jail before posting $3,000 bond.
While MTV didn't show video of the incident, during an episode earlier this month Clark called his roommates from the Travis County Jail and, after they bailed him out, described what happened. Clark told Wes he was talking to "the Best Wurst guy" when someone thought he was trying to cut in line.
"He pushed me and I just hit him," Clark said. He wasn't specific about who he was referring to.
Later in the episode, Clark sought out Notarthomas and apologized. Notarthomas accepted.
It apparently didn't help his case, though. County Attorney David Escamilla's office is pursuing the charge, a class A misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail. Notarthomas said he'd like to see Clark sentenced to an anger management class.
Clark is due back in Austin in County Court at Law No. 7 on Dec. 5. Etter said she thinks the case should be resolved soon but said she couldn't comment further.
The other roommate arrested during the show, 22-year-old Johanna Botta of Riverside, Calif. is described in her MTV bio as a "fiery Peruvian." She drew the attention of police when she took a rose from a street vendor outside a Sixth Street bar, cast members said on the show.
She pleaded no contest to public intoxication, and the charge was dropped in May after Botta completed 16 hours of community service and an 8-hour alcohol education class.
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