RACINE — A Racine man has been charged after allegedly yelling at two young girls while holding a baseball bat and apparently accidentally hitting one of the girls.
Lazarick L. Riley, 49, of the 3000 block of 16th Street, was charged with a misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct with use of a dangerous weapon and four counts of misdemeanor bail jumping.
According to a criminal complaint:
At 12:58 p.m. on Tuesday, officers were dispatched to the area of 16th Street and West Boulevard in reference to a man yelling at two 7-9-year-old girls while holding a bat.
Upon arrival, the officers located Riley lying in the front yard of a residence with a metal bat on the ground next to him. The officers observed that Riley smelled of intoxicants and had thick-tongued speech and labored motor skills.
He was belligerent and argumentative with officers, and they believed he was under the influence of alcohol. Riley denied consuming alcohol and that he was just at court that morning for his two open cases.
Riley
Officers spoke to a witness who stated he was watching the two girls as they were playing in the garage with their toys.
Riley then arrived, heavily intoxicated, and wanted to enter the home. The witness said that Riley was homeless and sometimes was allowed to stay at the house, but he refused to allow Riley in and that was when Riley went to the garage with the metal bat.
Officers spoke to one of the girls who said Riley dropped the bat on her head while he was in the garage, but insisted that Riley dropping the bat was an accident.
The other child who was present also insisted this as Riley did not swing the bat toward anyone or intended to cause harm.
After she was struck in the head, Riley moved to the front yard where officers located him.
A status conference for Riley is set for Sept. 29 at the Racine County Law Enforcement Center, 717 Wisconsin Ave., online court records indicate. He remained in custody as of Wednesday afternoon.
