CHICAGO — A judge recommended a sentence of six months in a boot camp for the teenager who rushed the field with his father and attacked a Kansas City base coach during a game between the Royals and White Sox last September.
Markham Juvenile Court Judge Michael Stuttley considered a parole violation by the 16-year-old boy and a juvenile delinquency petition before recommending the sentence Wednesday, said Tom Stanton, a spokesman for the Cook County state's attorney's office.
The Illinois Department of Corrections Juvenile Division will decide whether to accept the recommendation. Otherwise, officials could keep him at a juvenile detention facility until his scheduled return for a court review June 2, 2004, Stanton said.
The boy and his father, 35-year-old William Ligue Jr., ran from the seats and started pummeling Tom Gamboa, then the Royals' first-base coach, during a game Sept. 19. Last month Ligue pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated battery and is scheduled to be sentenced June 18.
The boy pleaded guilty last year and was sentenced to five years of probation, but in April prosecutors said he had violated his probation. "He was in a residential drug treatment center and he chose to leave that facility," Stanton said.
The Chicago City Council on Wednesday also approved a $1,000 fine for anyone running onto restricted areas at stadiums and other sports venues. Offenders who make physical contact with players or umpires could face up to six months in jail.