Well, looks like he lost in court – at least for now.
By now everybody’s probably seen the video of Baltimore Ravens fan John “Jack” Callis brutally assaulting a Washington Commanders fan on the streets of Baltimore after a game last week.
The attack appeared to be completely unprovoked, with the camera guy pointing out “a straggler” to Callis, who then beat the unsuspecting pedestrians while boldly declaring that he “doesn’t lose.”
Ravens fan roaming the streets looking for random Commanders fans to beat up is INSANE https://t.co/tb4KndeEYs pic.twitter.com/bUTien1LtV
— Hater Report (@HaterReport_) October 14, 2024
Well apparently the Baltimore police felt differently and issued an arrest warrant for the man, who turned himself in earlier this week.
BREAKING: John Callis, the man wanted in connection with an assault seen in a viral video on Oct. 13, turned himself in, according to police. Click the link to read the story; https://t.co/bkux3I01JG pic.twitter.com/zCyHE6hFXM
— WBAL-TV 11 Baltimore (@wbaltv11) October 21, 2024
According to the police report, Callis actually attacked this group of fans twice, both times seemingly unprovoked when he encountered them on the street. The first time, the victims had lost some of their belongings, and when they came back to retrieve them, that’s when the viral video was taken.
Callis was charged with one count of first degree assault and three counts of second degree assault, and is facing a maximum of 55 years in jail. But he was in court yesterday asking to be released – a request the judge quickly swatted down.
During a hearing on bail, the Baltimore judge LaTina Burse Greene called the evidence against Callis “strong” and said that it was “clearly an unprovoked attack” on the innocent Commanders fans. And while his attorney requested that Callis be released on GPS monitoring, the judge decided to deny bail altogether and keep Callis behind bars.
She did agree to release him to an inpatient facility if one can be found, after Callis admitted that he’s done cocaine daily for the past four years, including on the night of the attack. But it’s not his first run-in with the law: The man has been on probation for assault charges twice before in two different states.
But Callis’ attorney Brian Thompson thinks his client was overcharged in this case, arguing that he shouldn’t have been charged with first-degree assault. And he also argued that he believes his client needs rehabilitation and not jail:
“I think he needs help. The criminal justice system is both designed to punish and rehabilitate. He’s a 24-year-old kid. He clearly has a problem. He needs help. And I’m trying to get him help, and I believe the judge will be amenable to it with a different program.”
A 24-year old kid? That’s not a kid, he’s a full-grown adult.
And for now, he’s an adult who’s going to be spending some time behind bars.
