Self-described 'juggalo' pleads guilty to assault

A man who described himself as a "juggalo" pleaded guilty Wednesday morning to attempted assault on a law enforcement officer and third-degree assault.

Robin C. Shelman, 23, of Oklahoma City received a sentence of 15 days in the Cape Girardeau County Jail for the third-degree assault and 30 days incarceration for the other charge. The sentences will run concurrently, and Shelman will receive credit for the 32 days already served.

Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle said the victim Shelman assaulted when he threatened her with a hatchet March 14 could not be located by police. Had the case gone to trial, the state would have had to rely on the testimony of a bystander who witnessed the incident and called police, Swingle said.

Shelman had become embroiled in an argument with a woman after cutting her off in traffic, according to records. They both pulled over into the parking lot of Steak 'n Shake on William Street and began yelling profanit at one another, according to the witness.

Shelman, who retrieved a hatchet from his car and brandished it at the woman, was later found by police and arrested. When placed in a patrol car, he began fighting the officer and trying to kick him.

Shelman informed police he was a "juggalo," or fan of the Detroit-based band Insane Clown Posse. Fans of the band have been credited in the past with hatchet attacks, according to a Wikipedia.org entry included with court documents filed in Shelman's case.

Shelman was wearing an Insane Clown Posse T-shirt at the time of his arrest, had a "Juggalo" sticker on his car and wore the band's logo, a clown bearing a hatchet, on his belt buckle.

Swingle pointed out that a "gathering of the juggalos" is coming up in August at Cave-in-Rock, Ill., described on an Insane Clown Posse website as the "place to party till you can't stay standing."

While researching the topic of "juggalos" in preparation for the case, Swingle said he came across an Insane Clown Posse song titled "My Axe," the lyrics of which depict a hatchet attack.

"Had this case gone to trial I was going to try to find a way to cross examine him with the lyrics," Swingle said.

bdicosmo@semissourian.com

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