Parent Allegedly Beats Little League Coach

April 15, 200422 yr

LIVINGSTON, N.J. -- A parent accused of beating a Little League baseball coach with an aluminum bat during a weekend brawl in front of several 7-year-old players has been charged with aggravated assault.

David Lomita 43, also faces a weapons charge in connection with Saturday's brawl at a practice field in Livingston. Authorities said Lomita went there after his wife, Hope, and the coach, David Kramer, 38, argued after she tried to pick up a baseball cap and T-shirt for her son.

Kramer would not relinquish the items, authorities said, so Hope Lomita returned home and told her husband what happened. She also apparently was angry about a joke Kramer made regarding her husband's abilities when he coached the team.

Shortly after David Lomita arrived at the field, authorities said he grabbed Kramer by the neck, and the coach then punched Lomita twice in the face. Some parents separated the pair, but Lomita then picked up the bat and hit the coach in the head, leg and arm, authorities said.

Kramer, who was treated at Saint Barnabas Hospital and released later that day, would not comment on the brawl. He has coached the team for two years and his attorney, David Fried, said Kramer would not give Hope Lomita the items because he wanted to give the seven players at the practice the first chance to pick a jersey with their favorite numbers.

David Lomita, who is now free on bail, also would not comment. His attorney, Frank Arleo, said Lomita maintains his innocence and plans to file assault charges against Kramer.

The team is part of the Livingston American Little League, which held a meeting Monday night with parents and team members to discuss the matter. The organization's leaders will now decide whether Kramer will be allowed to remain as the team's coach.