Violent scuffle leads to police action
By: Rebecca Tokarz
Three men turned themselves into police Wednesday to face charges stemming from a fight following a youth hockey game last month.
Farmingdale resident and coach of the Wall Township American Eagles youth hockey team, Adrian Thomas, 30, was charged with aggravated assault. His father, Larry Thomas, 51, of Island Heights and James Wallace, 41, of Burlington were charged with disorderly conduct in connection with a dispute following a Jan. 26 youth hockey game in which a fight between the men broke out.
Bail was set at $2,500 for the younger Mr. Thomas, who was released after posting 10 percent, or $250. If Mr. Thomas is convicted on the fourth-degree charge, he could face three years in jail, South Brunswick Police Department Detective James Ryan said.
Mr. Wallace and the elder Mr. Thomas were released on their own recognizance, Detective Ryan said.
The January altercation occurred following a hockey game between the Wall Township American Eagles and the Junior Titans. Following the game, Larry Thomas, who police said had been abusive during the game, got into an argument in the lobby of Pro Skate U.S.A. with Mr. Wallace, the father of a player on the Titans.
The game was sponsored by the Atlantic Youth Hockey League, in which the Titans play, and the New Jersey Youth Hockey League, in which the Eagles play. Both teams, which have players between 14 and 17 years old, draw players from around the state, but the Titans are based out of Pro Skate and the Eagles are based in Wall Township.
After the game, police said, a woman asked the elder Mr. Thomas to apologize for calling the Titans a bad team. In turn, Mr. Thomas said he never called the Titans a bad team, which prompted Mr. Wallace to call Mr. Thomas a liar. The pair then exchanged profanities to describe the other’s wife before the fight broke out, police said.
The elder Mr. Thomas grabbed Mr. Wallace by the shirt and tried to punch him and a scuffle ensued, police said. Several bystanders tried to pull the two men apart.
The younger Mr. Thomas, seeing his father in the middle of the scuffle, grabbed the neck of Mr. Wallace, pulled him backward onto the ground and punched him several times, police said.
Police arrived at the scene after the fight ended, but were able to retrieve information from a security camera that recorded the altercation.
Mr. Wallace had a cut on his ear that a witness said was suffered in the fight, police said. Witnesses described the fight as mutually instigated.

