Comment About Yankees Hat Leads to Knife Threats

A North Carolina man who is now living in Concord was arrested last month after allegedly threatening a bar patron with a knife.

James D. Lemmond, 30, of Clinton Street in Concord, was arrested at 12:45 a.m. on Feb. 7, 2015, on felony criminal threatening, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest or detention.

According to an arrest report and court affidavit, officers were called to Tandy’s Top Shelf in Eagle Square for a report of a man threatening to stab another man.

Officers arrived and spoke to a man who was standing by himself in a far section of the bar. The man, identified as Lemmond by a North Carolina ID, had a knife in his pocket and smelled like alcohol.

“Lemmond was overly excited and said someone started an argument with him so he pulled out his knife to defend himself,” the reporting officer alleged. “Lemmond said the individual he had been arguing with was much larger than him and he felt scared.”

The officer alleged that Lemmond stated he was sober but had “drastic mood swings” and was slurring his words.

The officer spoke to witnesses who alleged that Lemmond was the primary aggressor and pulled the knife on the man and lunged at him at least three times.

“I’m going to cut you for real, b----,” one witnessed alleged he stated.

Two other witnesses gave similar statements with nearly the same threat language, according to the report.

The officer then spoke to the victim who stated that Lemmond was allegedly giving another patron a hard time for wearing a New York Yankees hat. He told him to just relax and not give other people a hard time for liking a different team. Lemmond then allegedly pulled the knife on the man and lunged at him with it.

The officer went back to speak to Lemmond and after running through what the witnesses alleged and speaking with him, he was arrested.

After being cuffed, Lemmond allegedly began to yell and scream, claiming police brutality, and dropped to the ground, attempting to keep from being taken by police. After numerous warnings to stand up, he allegedly would not. It reportedly took three officers to carry him to the cruiser.

While being processed, Lemmond reportedly told officers that he pulled the knife on the victim because had been trying to sleep with his girlfriend. He was held without bail.

According to online reports, Lemmond has a lengthy criminal history in North Carolina.

Lemmond was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon in January 2012 by the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office. A month later, according to the Matthews Mint Hill Weekly, he was arrested again on bench warrants for assault on a female and injury to personal property. He was arrested on the charges on Feb. 10, according to records.

In May 2011, he was arrested for assaulting a woman, according to North Carolina public records. In November 2010, he was arrested for assault on a female. A month later, he was arrested on a slew of charges including four felony including drug charges.

Editor’s note: This post was derived from information supplied by the Concord Police Department. It does not indicate a conviction. Click this link to find out how to get a name removed from a New Hampshire Patch police report.