4 held in beating of man in stadium lot

Police arrested four New Jersey men this week for beating another man so badly during a Phillies game last month that they fractured his skull.

The victim, 22, spent 10 days in the hospital after the Aug. 10 assault in a parking lot outside Citizens Bank Park, said Sgt. D.F. Pace, a police spokesman.

The victim and his girlfriend were sitting in her car in the lot on Darien Street near Pattison Avenue about 8:45 p.m. when four men approached them, insulted them and then lured the victim (whose name wasn't released) out of the car for a confrontation, Pace said.

A shoving match ensued that quickly turned into a fistfight, and the outnumbered victim fell to the ground, where his attackers kicked him repeatedly in the head, Pace said.

Someone also punched the victim's girlfriend, who tried to intervene, said Bernie Weisenfeld, a spokesman for the Gloucester County, N.J., prosecutor's office.

The men, all residents of Mantua Township in Gloucester County, knew each other and had an ongoing dispute with the victim, Weisenfeld said.

The men arrested at their homes Wednesday were James E. Sprinkle, 19; Stephen Lare Jr., 18; Michael D. Redrow, 21; and Frank J. Landolfi, 20.

Each is charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault, conspiracy and related offenses. They face an extradition hearing this morning in Woodbury.

The victim, who suffered a fractured skull, bleeding on the brain and other injuries, has been in and out of the hospital since the attack and soon will undergo surgery for heart problems stemming from the assault, Weisenfeld said.

A police supervisor in South Philadelphia said such attacks are rare around the stadium complex, despite the violent reputation of "700-level" Philly sports fans.

"We really don't have the problems the way we used to since they tore down the Vet," said Lt. Joseph Dougherty of South Detectives. "That [rarity of assaults] is pretty good when you have thousands of people down there so frequently for all the events they have." *