Assault Archives

2005

FOOTBALL — Pitman youth football coach David Milward, 44, was charged with simple assault for allegedly kicking referee Patrick McAleer, of Wenonah, N.J., Sept. 17, 2005, during a midget league football game between Pitman and Millville. According to police, McAleer said he repeatedly warned Pitman coaches against using foul language. In the fourth quarter, Milward was ejected for cursing McAleer after a call. That’s when Milward allegedly confronted the official. The maximum penalty for assault at a league-sponsored youth game is 18 months jail and a $10,000 fine.

2003

BASEBALL – A former New Jersey youth baseball manager who faced prosecution under New Jersey’s new sports violence act for allegedly attacking an umpire has been banned from coaching any kids ages 16 and under. Nicokla Antuofermo, 39, who was accused of punching umpire Mickey Guiney, of Hazlet, N.J., received that ban as part of his acceptance into a pretrial intervention program (PTI) Dec. 22, 2003. Antuofermo is also prohibited from attending any athletic events for one year except for games involving one of his sons, who is disabled. He must perform 50 hours of community service, attend anger management counseling and report to a probation officer. If he complies with those conditions, his charge could be dismissed.

The original attack occurred during a July 11, 2003, all-star game in Hazlet, N.J., between Babe Ruth League teams from Cheesequake and Middletown. Antuofermo, who was the Cheesequake manager, came onto the field to confront Guiney after Antuofermo’s 10-year-old son was accidentally hit in the head with a bat while catching.

HOCKEY – New Jersey hockey referee Paul Bickford agreed to drop charges against the adult league player who spit on him, after the player agreed to pay $250 to a local charity. The case was settled Jan. 6, 2004, with the help of a mediator. The spitting incident occurred in the first period of an Aug. 10, 2003, adult league hockey game between the Storm and the Great Notch Inn at Floyd Hall Arena. While Bickford, 38, was ejecting William Moul of Great Notch due to a fighting penalty, Moul spit on the official.

SOCCER – Administrators from a New Jersey high school are contemplating action against a soccer player accused of punching a referee during an Oct. 10, 2003, game. Referee James Clay, a 50-year-old with seven years of officiating experience, was slugged in the head and neck after ejecting a Clayton High School player with 12:47 left in a scoreless game. The player, who had received a yellow card earlier in the game for incidental cursing, was given a red-yellow card for taunting about 15 minutes after the first incident. A red-yellow results in immediate ejection.

2002

BASEBALL – Brownie troop mother Lois Collinson faces charges after she jumped a fence and approached an umpire about a call during a June 21, 2002, minor league game. The confrontation took place in the seventh inning of a match-up between New Jersey and Staten Island after New Jersey Cardinals’ player Justin Hileman was thrown out on an infield grounder. Park security officers responded and told Collinson to exit the field, but she refused and was handcuffed. Collinson was escorted from the field, processed in Newton and later released

1998

BASKETBALL - A New Jersey State Prison inmate serving time for robbery was stabbed to death while refereeing a basketball game in the prison yard. The referee was stabbed 4 times in the chest with a sharpened brass shank made from a piece of toilet mechanism. The suspect who was also an inmate at the facility, refereed a game earlier in the day. He stated he killed the other inmate/referee, because he had argued a call with him in an earlier game. (6/18/98)

1995

BASEBALL - Lou Aceto, a 17-yr-old baseball player, pleaded guilty to assault charges and was given six months probation for an attack on Umpire Richard Wolff during a summer league game played in Monmuth County. Aceto struck Wolff over a disputed call in the seventh inning of a championship playoff game. (8/15/95)

1989 HOCKEY - A recreation-league hockey player, in Clementon, NJ, threw a skate at a referee after a game, causing lacerations and bruises to the referee's head and chest. The player was fined $300 and ordered to pay medical restitution. (6/89)