BY SCOTT LAUBERJust talked by phone with St. Petersburg Police Department spokesman George Katjsa, who read details of the report on the incident involving J.C. Romero and a Rays fan after last Thursday night's game at Tropicana Field.
The officer who received the complaint has classified it as "simple battery," a misdemeanor in Florida, Katjsa told The News Journal. The case has been turned over to the Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney's Office to determine whether prosecutors will charge Romero.
According to Katjsa, the report indicated that Romero was walking from the bullpen to the dugout (along the third-base line) after the game when he initially ignored Robert Eaton's request for an autograph. Eaton "verbally instigated" the situation, Katjsa said, although police can't confirm what he actually said because it's still under investigation. Regardless, what he said angered Romero, who "came back and the two got into a shouting match. At one point, the player hit the victim with an open hand along his face and neck," Katjsa said.
Police weren't able to interview Romero, Katjsa said, because the Phillies left for the airport to catch a charter flight to Toronto. Eaton, however, refused treatment and didn't have any visible injuries, Katjsa said.
Asked about the incident over the weekend in Toronto, Romero initially had no comment before saying, "I'm trying to be professional. I don't really want to get into that. Don't make a story out of nothing."
More in tomorrow's News Journal.
5 comments:
That fan most likely deserved to be slapped. Some of these people are so rude and obnoxious.
Guess Romero just about had enough of the crap!!
He's a cheater. And a fan called him on it. Simple as that. He has no right to raise a hand to anyone.
Get a life. He didn't cheat. He used a different supplement that had zero warning labels and had ingredients that were not on the "banned" list. He got it checked by three different MLB people. Get over it, he did not try to cheat the game.
Mr. Selig would disagree.
looks as if "the juice" continues to get this cheater in trouble
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