Crime & Safety

'Dark Knight' Suspect Gets 6 Months

North Ridgeville man brought weapons into Crocker Park theater.

Scott Smith, 38,  has been sentenced to six months in prison for bringing a loaded gun, ammunition and knives to a showing of the latest Batman movie in Westlake.

Smith, of North Ridgeville, was sentenced in Cuyahoga County Court on March 21.

Common Pleas Court Judge Kathleen Ann Sutula said she was troubled that Smith, 38, would take weapons that he wasn't allowed to conceal into a theater where they weren't allowed to go, according to Cleveland.com. She said she was sending a message to the public that that kind of behavior would not be allowed.

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Smith carried and various medical supplies into Regal Cinemas in Crocker Park to watch Dark Knight Rises last August. The incident occured two weeks after a gunman opened fire in a movie theater in Colorado killing 12 people and injuring dozens of others at a showing of the same movie.

He pleaded guilty to two counts of carrying concealed weapons last week. Previously, Sutula acquitted him of a third count of having weapons under a disability during a bench trial in her court.

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The disability, in this case, was a drug dependency, according to prosecutors.

An off-duty officer inside the theater noticed Smith carrying the bag and followed him into an I-Max Theater that was showing the Batman movie.

Once inside the theater, the officer approached Smith and requested to see the bag he had in his possession. A search of the suspects bag revealed the weapons and supplies. Smith was then placed under arrest.

Smith's lawyer claimed the weapons were for self-defense.


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