Reggie Ray, 42, of Clanton, Chilton County, Alabama, United States previously lived in Fort Hood, Texas, USA. Aside from Clanton, he has lived in other parts of Alabama including Birmingham, Maplesville, Thorsby and Verbena.
Ray is in a relationship with Tanesha Raquel Wright, 49, of Clanton. She is a DaVita Kidney Care integrated kidney care (IKC) coordinator.
On the evening of August 5, 2023, Ray and Wright were two of the 227 passengers of Harriott II. At around 7:00 p.m., the riverboat’s captain Jim Kittrell, 62, of Montgomery, Montgomery County, Alabama was supposed to dock the riverboat at Riverfront Park in Montgomery but a private pontoon boat was docked in the riverboat’s reserved spot.
Using loudspeaker, the crew from the Harriott II tried to reach the boat’s owners, who responded with vulgar language and hand gestures. Among the owners are Richard Roberts, 48, of Orange Beach, Baldwin County, Alabama and Salem, Lee County, Alabama residents Zachery Chase Shipman, 25, Allen Todd, 23, and Mary Todd, 21.
Kittrell ordered his co-captain Damien Pickett, 56, of Montgomery to move the vessel himself. As the latter was trying to move the unmanned pontoon boat out of the way, he was attacked by Roberts, Shipman, Allen and Mary.
The assault on Pickett infuriated Harriott crew and passengers. When the riverboat was finally able to dock, Roberts, Shipman, Allen, Mary and their companions were attacked by several crew members, passengers and bystanders.
Joining the brawl was Ray, who was caught on camera wielding a white chair and swinging it towards a shirtless white man wearing gray shorts. A police officer grabbed Ray and remove the chair from his hands.
Including Ray, 13 people were detained but released them after questioning that night. On August 8, 2023, Montgomery Police Department chief Darryl Albert appealed for Ray to turn himself in for further questioning.
Also on August 8, 2023, Roberts turned himself in and was charged with two counts of third-degree assault. Shipman and Allen turned themselves in on August 9, 2023 and Mary did the same on August 10, 2023 and they were each charged with third-degree assault.
On the afternoon of August 11, 2023, Ray turned himself in. He was charged with disorderly conduct and booked into Montgomery Municipal Jail.
