Man enters no contest plea in bar punch case
An ex- con accused nearly a year ago of throwing a drink on a man who was “sucker punched” in a St. Clair Shores bar and later died has pleaded no contest to assault and battery.
Johnny Rittenberry, 40, of Warren, recently entered the plea in front of Judge Mark Fratarcangelli in 40th District Court. He had been scheduled for a Jan. 13 pretrial but that has been adjourned in lieu of a presentence interview, according to court records. No sentenced date was given in court records.
The charge is punishable by up to 93 days in jail and a $500 fine.
On Dec. 22, 2019, Rittenberry threw his drink on Shawn Kubic, who laid unconscious of Kapones Sports Tavern on Harper Avenue. Kubic seconds before was punched in the face while he wasn’t looking by Hatum Akrawi after some type of argument inside the bar. Kubic, 47, of St. Clair Shores, died five days later from striking his head on the floor.
Akrawi’s previous guilty plea to involuntary manslaughter was accepted Monday by Judge Michael Servitto of Macomb County Circuit Court after another circuit judge, Carl Marlinga, on Oct. 6 refused to accept it.
Marlinga was disqualified from the case in November by Chief Judge James Biernat Jr. on request of Akrawi’s attorney, Joe Arnone, who accused Marlinga of bias. Arnone based his legal motion on his comments in an Oct. 7 written opinion in which he questioned Judge Fratacangelli’s dismissal of a second-degree murder charge against Akrawi in September following a preliminary examination.
Marlinga in the opinion calls the decision “plain error.”
The dismissal of the murder charge and maintenance of the manslaughter charge has prompted Kubic’s family and relatives to protest several times outside courthouses, including Monday at the county courthouse in Mount Clemens.
Manslaughter is punishable by up to 15 years in prison while second-degree murder is punishable by up to life in prison, with a chance for parole after approximately 15 years.
Akrawi, 34, of Fraser, is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 11. He is free after posting a $200,000 bond through a bond company. He can only leave his home for work and medical and legal appointments, and undergoes drug testing.
Rittenberry in February 2019 was featured as a suspect in a first-degree home invasion case as part of the Eastpointe Public Safety Department Felony Friday campaign to publicize fugitives.
He was located by police but his case was dismissed in 38th District Court in Eastpointe.
Also in 2019, Rittenberry was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon for a March 2019 incident in Roseville. The case was dismissed in September 2019 in circuit court when a witness failed to appear for trial.
Rittenberry has prior arrests for possession of a short-barreled shotgun, felon in possession of a firearm and operating an automobile while intoxicated. He was discharged from prison in 2017 after serving a five-year sentence on the weapons charges.