Joshua Melvin, 9/29/10
A former Daly City cop was sentenced to 90 days in jail for confrontations in which he held a knife to one friend’s throat and poked another in the torso with his gun, a prosecutor said Wednesday.
Nicholas Skourtis, 24, was ordered Tuesday to turn himself in to San Mateo County authorities by Oct. 23 to begin serving his sentence, said Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe. He is currently out of jail on his own recognizance.
Prosecutors say Skourtis was off duty at a Daly City Nation’s Giant Hamburger last September when a friend dropped his cell phone and the trouble started. Skourtis picked it up and jokingly refused to give the phone back. But when the friend got upset and demanded the return of the phone, Skourtis pulled out his handgun and jabbed the man in the midsection five or six times, prosecutors say.
Then in February, Skourtis and some friends were at a Starbucks coffee shop in Burlingame and got into a conversation about the best way to kill somebody. According to prosecutors, Skourtis said, “Here is how you do it,” pulled out a knife and held it to a friend’s throat for several seconds.
Both incidents were later reported to police, sparking an investigation.
Defense attorney Harry Stern said Skourtis has accepted responsibility for his actions and was pleased he got the minimum sentence.
“He expressed his remorse and apologized to his former friends who are involved,” Stern said.
As part of a deal with prosecutors, Skourtis, who was fired by the police department not long after charges were filed earlier this year, pleaded no contest in June to two misdemeanor counts of brandishing a weapon.
Skourtis will also have to complete three years’ probation and may be ordered to pay restitution to the victims.