Thursday, April 27, 2017

Arrest warrant issued in ballpark brawl. (Updated)

Update (4/28/2017):  Eric Johnson turned himself in this afternoon and after being processed, he was released on a $1000 cash bond until his court date of May 9th at 1:30 pm.

The Ridgeland Police Department issued the following statement:

Wednesday, April 26, 2017 a criminal affidavit was filed by Leroi Gray alleging he was assaulted by Eric W. Johnson on April 21, 2017.  Gray indicated in the affidavit Johnson did purposely, knowingly and unlawfully caused or attempted to cause bodily injury to him by punching him several times with a closed fist in the head and neck area and forcing him onto the ground.  This affidavit was presented to a Ridgeland Municipal Court Judge who signed an arrest warrant for Eric W. Johnson on Thursday, April 27, 2017.



Ridgeland Police Investigators have been in contact with Johnson and informed him of the outstanding arrest warrant and arrangements are being made to turn himself in.



Any questions should be directed to the Ridgeland Police Department, Office of the Chief of Police at 601-853-2014 or 601-856-2121.

Ridgeland PD posted this statement earlier in the week about the brawl:

The Ridgeland Police Department responded to 235 W. School Street (Freedom Ridge Park) on Friday, April 21, 2017, approximately 7:05 pm on a reported physical altercation between two men.  Upon the officers’ arrival, the parties were separated and they were interviewed by officers related to the events.  Statements obtained indicated coaches of a youth baseball program and from opposing teams got into a verbal altercation after one of the coaches was ejected from the game.  The verbal altercation continued outside the playing field and led to a physical confrontation between the two coaches.  The coaches have been identified as Leroi Gray of Clinton, MS and Eric Johnson of Marion, MS.  Gray was transported to a local hospital for evaluation and treatment.  The extent of his injuries are unknown at this time. 



During the verbal altercation, several parties were involved in an attempt to deescalate the dispute.  One of these parties has been identified as Meridian Mayor Percy Bland but he had no involvement in the disagreement other than attempting to separate the parties.



The case is under active investigation and at this time, no criminal charges have been filed against anyone involved.  Investigators will be re-interviewing the parties involved as well as any witnesses to the altercation.  Ridgeland Police Department is in possession of a segment of video from the confrontation and will be reviewing this piece of evidence.  This video only shows one portion of the events and in determining the proper course which to proceed, additional information related to events pre-video is being sought.  This is an active case investigation and no evidence will be released at this point by Ridgeland PD.



35 comments:

Anonymous said...

Parents and coaches are taking Little League ball waaaay too seriously these days. It use to be about having fun, watching kids play and teaching the kids 'sportsmanship'. This is a fine example of what its come to.

Pitiful

Anonymous said...

Roll Tide! (per his facebook)

Anonymous said...

Great role models. I have got to sign up my kids for those teams!

Anonymous said...

Wow, talk about speedy justice! It only took a damn week to swear out a warrant for this yokel.

All this over a game played by 11-year-olds who would rather be at home on their Xboxes. Hope it was worth it, tough guy!

Anonymous said...

You reckon this is the end of Johnson's career as a Meridian police officer? He clearly reignited the dispute, and was completely out of control, continuing to pummel his opponent when the man was on the ground and out of the fight - if he was ever even in it, that is. Looks to me like he was just trying to ward off Johnson's blows.

Anonymous said...

Any word who won the game? Also, who won the tournament? I checked the sports pages but couldn't find anything.

Anonymous said...

This is nothing new. As far back as 1957, Sports Illustrated wrote: “The two basic arguments which strike at the roots of Little League pop up year after year: it puts too much competitive pressure on the children; it brings out the monster in too many parents and adult leaders.”

Cash Me Ousside How Bou Dah said...

His family must be so proud, and we are all impressed by his display of machismo. The real tragedy is that his family will suffer because he acted in a selfish and impulsive manner.

Way to go....jackass.

Anonymous said...

3:13. This was a simple assault, a misdemeanor. As it did not occur in the presence of a law enforcement officer, the victim is required, by law, to file the affidavit.

Anonymous said...

Glad the Mayor's bodyguard will be behind bars. "mayor" Bland is trying to act like a Mafia boss

Anonymous said...

Shockers beat the Mayhem (10 - 5)

Shockers coach beat the Mayhem dad (1 - 0)

MCSD beat the Shockers coach (5 - 1)

Inmates in the MC lockup predicted to beat the Shockers coach (69 - 0)

Anonymous said...

Looks like Mr Gray got the Shocker from a really big Johnson.

Anonymous said...

That's how the Shockers act when they are losing any game. The game had only been playing 25 mins when they started complaining. This is just the first physical altercation they've had, defiantly not verbel.

Anonymous said...

Wait, wait, wait ..... Dude who obviously takes athletics WAY too seriously, succumbs to roid rage, loses all semblance of control over his emotions, hurls epithets indiscrimately in the presence of women and children, challenges his adverary to the modern day equivalent of a duel, attacks said adversary mercilessly and continues to do so even after it is clear that his opponent is beaten and defenseless, is a Meridian-domiciled Alabama fan?

This is my shocked face.

Anonymous said...

'no injuries'? Earlier reports all claimed he has a broken leg. I wondered how ones breaks a leg falling to the ground.

Anonymous said...

Amazing. 95% of American would realize that this is a universal problem in youth sports. 6:44 is looking to make it our team vs your team.

No doubt that a team from Madison would be the epitome of youth sports problems, but c'mon man, this is bigger than your beef with your rival 12 year old team.

Anonymous said...

YAY sportsmanship...or something. Imagine what life lessons these kids are learning.

Anonymous said...

Is this the infamous pineapple league in Madison county? That was so intriguing until I saw the women in the video.

I'll never look at a pineapple the same way again.

Anonymous said...

Is the league giving refunds? I wouldn't want my kid anywhere near these morons.

Anonymous said...

That coach probably has a pineapple tattooed on his back side.

Anonymous said...

@7:28

Read the story. Neither of the teams involved was from Madison or Madison County. Go take a big bite out of you pineapple, without peeling it!

Anonymous said...

Any word on the rankings? How did this game impact the rankings?

Anonymous said...

Um, 9:00 that team was stacked with Madison moms. Ask those that know, the mom roster is not in the "story" you refer to. Quit being so defensive about pineapples. The proverbial cat has been out of the bag for years.

Anonymous said...

Rematch at the WWE Summer Slam?

Anonymous said...

9:58; How can a team be 'stacked with MADISON MOMS'? This was not in Jackson - No 12 year old moms were in attendance. These were out of town teams. Give it up. Crap that pineapple. Sideways.

Anonymous said...

As a lesson on the consequences of stupid behavior, I think the kids this "man" was coaching should be present when he is arrested, and should attend the court proceedings. They should also be required to do the victim's yardwork and any other chores he can't do because of his injury.

Anonymous said...

Do the sock puppets talk to themselves for hours on end in real life?

Anonymous said...

What injury?

Anonymous said...

Excerpt from The Love Song of J. Alfred Madisonite (apologies to T.S. Eliot)

Shall I wear my flat billed cap behind? Do I dare to eat a pineapple?
I shall wear Under Armour trousers, and walk upon the little league fields.
I have heard the coaches cursing, each to each.

Anonymous said...

900 pm. The Madison Shockers aren't from Madison? Interesting - where are they from?

Anonymous said...

The teams were from Madison and Clinton. The coach is from Marion and works in Meridian (when he's not turning boys into CHAMPIONS!)

Anonymous said...

The rankings after that game are:

1st - Madison Shockers
2nd - Flowood Yeticoolers
3rd - Jackson Chokwes
4th - Reunion Pineapples
5th - Ridgeland Costcos
6th - Meridian/Marion Roidragers

Anonymous said...

There is clearly one individual that is overly sensitive to the pineapple jokes. Are you a Madison mom or a coach?

Anonymous said...

We don't smoke marijuana in Reunion,
We don't get our kicks from LSD,
We don't burn our draft cards down on Main Street,
We just let the pineapple flag wave free!

Anonymous said...

if we can't beat you, our coach will.



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