Symsonia man charged after umpire allegedly assaulted during youth baseball game
FOX23 News at 9 p.m
PADUCAH, Ky., (KBSI) — A Symsonia man was arrested after authorities said he assaulted an umpire during a youth baseball game Thursday night at the Lone Oak baseball and softball fields.
According to the McCracken County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded around 9 p.m. after a 911 caller reported an umpire was being assaulted. When deputies arrived, the suspect had already left the scene.
Investigators said the victim and witnesses reported that a parent became upset over umpiring during an 11-year-old baseball game. Authorities identified the suspect as 48-year-old Keith Peek.
According to deputies, witnesses said Peek assaulted the umpire and placed him in a chokehold. The victim told deputies he was beginning to lose consciousness, and a witness reported the victim’s face was turning purple. The umpire also suffered a chipped tooth.
Deputies, assisted by the Graves County Sheriff’s Office, searched for Peek at his Symsonia residence but were unable to locate him Thursday night.
Authorities later obtained an arrest warrant charging Peek with first-degree assault of a sports official, first-degree strangulation, menacing and third-degree terroristic threatening.
The sheriff’s office said Peek turned himself in Friday at the McCracken County Sheriff’s Office. He was lodged in the McCracken County Jail on a $5,000 bond before being released.
The investigation remains ongoing, and additional charges are possible.
