3 Stabbed in Brawl at Dodger Stadium

A clash between private security guards and unlicensed vendors working near Dodger Stadium turned into a violent brawl after Sunday’s game, leaving three men hospitalized with stab wounds, authorities said.

The plainclothes private guards hired by the Dodgers’ merchandising operator, SportService, apparently were overrun by more than a dozen teenagers and men whom they had confronted about selling counterfeit T-shirts, police said.

Three private security guards “approached approximately 15 individuals on the outer perimeter of Dodger Stadium to investigate possible illegal vending,” said Officer Jason Lee of the Los Angeles Police Department.

“The confrontation turned into an argument. During the altercation, one of the security guards was stabbed in the shoulder. One vendor was stabbed in the stomach; another in the back. Those stabbed were taken to Los Angeles County-USC [Medical Center] and are in fair condition.”

“It appears they were defending themselves,” he said of the security guards’ actions.

Several fans witnessed the fight, which occurred about 5:30 p.m. on Stadium Way near the entrance to the Pasadena Freeway, not long after the Dodgers’ extra-innings 7-5 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.

After the confrontation, the security guards fled back to the stadium, where they called for help, Lee said.

Dodger officials said late Sunday that “as a matter of policy, the Los Angeles Dodgers do not comment on security matters.”

“However, we can confirm there was an unfortunate incident involving an altercation between individuals selling illegal counterfeit merchandise and members of a private security firm retained independently by merchandise operator SportService. No Dodger employees were involved in this incident,” Kelly Mullens said on behalf of the Dodgers.

Three of the unlicensed vendors were booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, police said. They were identified as Adrian Renald Herron, 51, of Los Angeles; Vincent Thomas Hill, 47, of Los Angeles; and Melvin Bernard Robinson, 40, of Pomona.

SportService, which has the contract to sell official Dodger merchandise at the park, has retail agreements with at least nine other major league baseball teams.

The concessionaire, a division of Delaware North Cos., also has food sales contracts with more than 50 professional sports stadiums and entertainment venues. Calls to its Buffalo, N.Y., headquarters were not answered Sunday night.

The confrontation between the private guards and unlicensed vendors came weeks after the Dodger organization beefed up security to deal with other issues that have caused problems at the park this year: unruly fans and rising crime.

Crime at the stadium nearly doubled to 92 reported incidents through June 4, the latest figures available, compared with 48 incidents during the same period last year.

The most serious altercation occurred two years ago when 25-year-old Marc Antenorcruz of Covina was shot dead after an argument broke out in the stadium parking lot following a game against the San Francisco Giants.

Antenorcruz had been rooting for the Giants. Pete Marron of South Gate, then 20, was convicted of the murder and sentenced to 50 years in prison.

This year, some fans have described seeing more vandalism and trash in the parking lots, excessive drunkenness, profanity-laced exchanges and sometimes physical attacks in front of children.

A low moment came May 3 during a Dodger promotion called $2 Tuesday in which tickets prices were reduced to $2 in some seats. When teenagers were arrested for running on the field, fans tossed bottles and other debris onto the field, delaying the game for nearly 10 minutes.

Concern about unruly and drunken fans has escalated in recent years in many professional sports.

Earlier this year, the NBA became the first major professional sport to issue a league-wide “Fan Code of Conduct” encompassing such issues as alcohol sales, foul language and ejections for tossing objects on the court.

The code was written after an embarrassing melee during a Detroit Pistons-Indiana Pacers game last year that resulted in misdemeanor battery and assault charges against five Pacer players and three Piston fans.

The Dodgers have posted their own fan conduct code warning ticket holders that they will be ejected immediately for unruly behavior.

In an effort to restore more of a family atmosphere in the ballpark, the Dodgers in May hired extra security guards and ushers as well as off-duty Los Angeles police officers to patrol the stands.