Two adults charged with assault after fight at Carroll County youth football game

Two adults were charged with assaulting minors after a melee broke out at a youth football game in Manchester over the weekend, police said.

Chief John Hess of the Manchester Police Department said the recreational game between 13-year-old players from the North Carroll Colts and their opponents from Olney “disgustingly ended” when a melee involving approximately 30 people broke out at Christmas Tree Park in Manchester on Saturday.

Nicole Starr Ellis, 31, and Keith Gregory Lockner, 32, of Reisterstown were later arrested and charged with second-degree assault, according to electronic court records.

“Both adults were charged for assaulting a minor and both victims were minors,” Hess said.

He said the two adults are parents of a North Carroll player and the two victims were from the Olney team. Attorneys for the defendants are not yet listed, according to electronic court records.

Hess called the fight “a very rare occurrence.”

“The single officer on scene at the start was forced to use pepper spray to defuse the situation, because his clear verbal commands were ignored and the melee was escalating, as he was waiting for multiple support units to arrive on scene,” Hess said in an email.

Hess added that the pepper spray helped to de-escalate the situation. Members of the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office, Maryland State Police and Hampstead Police Department arrived on the scene to assist. He said the crowd dispersed without incident.

Ellis and Lockner were not arrested immediately, he said. A criminal summons was issued for them as the result of an ongoing investigation. The minors had no reported injuries, Hess said.

A Facebook user posted about the incident over the weekend and claimed racial slurs were used by parents and players. However, Hess said the investigation, which is continuing, has so far found no evidence racial slurs were used.

Hess also said an official with the Carroll County Youth Football and Cheer League took immediate action by banning or suspending “involved persons from the North Carroll program and is continuing his review to ascertain if additional disciplinary action is warranted, regarding both teams.”

“As a league we are not taking this lightly. We are currently working with local law enforcement, other agencies, and both programs to get the full details of what occurred that evening and identify all parties involved,” Carroll County Youth Football and Cheer League’s board said in an emailed statement.

The North Carroll Recreation Council and the Olney Boys and Girls Community Sports Association did not immediately return a request for comment.

“We collectively have zero tolerance for this type of behavior and measures and practices will be reviewed to ensure all best practices are taken to avoid this type of incident in the future,” Hess said.