Nittany Lions Baker, Bowman charged in HUB assault

By Pete Bosak

STATE COLLEGE — Penn State defensive lineman Chris Baker, already facing trial on charges stemming from an April incident, was charged late last night with felony aggravated assault and several misdemeanors in connection with an Oct. 7 fight at the HUB.

Also charged in connection with the incident is Nittany Lions' linebacker Navorro Bowman, 19, of 6400 Gateway Blvd., District Heights, Md. Both he and Baker are charged with aggravated assault, a felony, simple assault, stalking and disorderly conduct, all misdemeanors, and summary harassment.

Bowman and Baker were arraigned before District Judge Jonathan Grine and released on their own recognizance.

Another football player, reserve defensive back Knowledge Timmons, is charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct and criminal trespass, and will be issued a summons by mail, authorities say. The charges against him are related to what police say is disorderly behavior and verbally combative behavior toward University police after they arrived at the scene of the fight.

According to the criminal complaint, the charges stem from an altercation that occurred at 1:46 a.m. Oct. 7, outside Heritage Hall at the HUB on Penn State's University Park campus.

Police said they were called to a report of a large fight, and arrived to find a large group of people huddled around some men, and heard sounds of yelling and fighting.

“In the center of the group were two males yelling toward the group of people that had just finished brutally attacking one of them," the criminal complaint states.

Another man was trying to calm the person police said had been attacked. The victim's shirt, according to the complaint, was covered in blood and the victim was trying to use it to stem the flow of blood. Police saw swelling on his entire face, lips and nose and an injury to the eye. His nose was fractured and his lip was split, the complaint stated.

The victim was yelling: "It took 15 football players to attack me," according to the criminal complaint.

The victim later told police he was "strolling" through the HUB, may have brushed another man and excused himself. He said he felt tension growing, and decided to walk outside to get away from it, according to the complaint. He said 15 people -- all or many of them football players -- followed him outside and jumped him. There were four primary aggressors, he told police.

However, Baker told police that the victim charged at Bowman when they were outside, instigating the fight.

Video surveillance at the HUB showed a group of 15 large men marching toward the victim outside the HUB, according to the criminal complaint.

The victim and his friend later looked at a 2007 Penn State football program and identified Baker and Bowman, as well as two other football players, as the attackers. No charges have been filed against the other players mentioned in the criminal complaint.

Other witnesses are cited in the report, including a 41-year-old maintenance worker who said he tried to help the victim during the attack, but couldn't get through the crowd of men surrounding him. The witness said the men were kicking, shoving, striking and punching the victim, as well as throwing things at him.

When police arrived, they found two players -- Baker and Timmons -- still at the HUB, flipping chairs and tables. Timmons was told to leave, and told police he was looking for his cell phone. The charges against Timmons, according to sources, are connected with his disorderly conduct after police arrived at the scene, not to the attack outside the HUB.

Baker is expected to be arraigned this morning. He is already facing charges of burglary, criminal trespass and simple assault in connection with an April 1 melee at the Meridian II apartments in State College. Starting safety Anthony Scirrotto also is charged with criminal trespass and summary harassment in connection with the April 1 incident and both face trial.

For more details as they become available, check back here or see tomorrow's Centre Daily Times.