(LONE OAK, Ky.) — A McCracken County man is facing serious criminal charges after allegedly attacking an umpire following a youth baseball game Thursday night, leaving the official briefly unconscious and with a chipped tooth.
McCracken County Sheriff’s Office deputies were dispatched to the Lone Oak baseball and softball fields around 9 p.m. Thursday, May 21, after a 911 caller reported an umpire was being assaulted. By the time deputies arrived, the suspect had already fled.
According to witnesses and the victim, the altercation began when a parent became enraged over an umpiring call during an 11-year-old baseball game. The man, identified as Keith Peek, allegedly began physically attacking the umpire before placing him in a chokehold. Witnesses told deputies the victim’s face had turned purple, and the umpire said he was on the verge of losing consciousness. He also suffered a chipped tooth in the assault.
Deputies, working alongside Graves County Sheriff’s Office, traveled to Peek’s residence in Symsonia in an effort to locate him Thursday night, but were unsuccessful.
Investigators obtained an arrest warrant charging Peek with Assault of a Sports Official 1st Degree, Strangulation 1st Degree, Menacing, and Terroristic Threatening 3rd Degree.
Peek, 48, turned himself in at the McCracken County Sheriff’s Office on Friday, May 22. He was booked into the McCracken County Jail on a $5,000 bond and has since been released.
Authorities say additional charges are possible as the investigation remains ongoing.
