Temporary State Fair Employees Arrested in Bar Brawl

A manager receieved eight stitches under his left eye after being punched and kicked by several men during a bar fight late Monday. 

The fight involved at least three men who are temporary employees working at the Maryland State Fair in Timonium, according to the police report. 

(Disclosure: Nick DiMarco previously worked at Hightopps Backstage Grille.) 

The fight started over a disagreement about who was going to use the pool tables in the lower bar Monday night. The manager on duty attempted to break up the argument when two men, both temporary state fair workers, picked up a large bar stool and, while the manager’s back was turned, attempted to strike him in the head.

The manager deflected the stool and then a Hightopps’s bouncer intervened. One of the fair employees, Shane Timothy Tait, pushed the bouncer, but was quickly subdued, according to the report. 

Another suspect, Fermin Antonio Torres, then reportedly picked up a pool cue and broke it over one of the pool tables. The Hightopps manager moved behind Torres and "swept him to the ground causing him to drop the pool cue," the report states. 

The fight then moved to the upper bar. The manager ran up a small set of steps to intervene again, but this time he was grabbed by another temporary employee, Christopher Lee Sheckells, who allegedly pinned the manager’s arms down. 

An unidentified man then struck the manager in the head. Surveillance footage showed several men continued to kick the manager while he lay on the ground.

The manager never lost consciousness, contrary to what was written in the police report.  

Police arrived at midnight while the fight was still in progress. Officers at the scene attempted to bring the situation under control as Tait stood among the remaining bar patrons. Sheckells was identified by police and arrested. 

At the same time, an unidentified woman was being escorted out of the bar by an officer after the woman allegedly failed to comply with a police order, and that's when her boyfriend, Tait, became irate, according to the report.

He yelled, "that’s my girlfriend" and reportedly attempted to rush the officer escorting the woman to the outside deck where she had interfered with the investigation. 

Tait and Sheckells were transported to the Cockeysville precinct. Police then received a call from the bouncer who said Torres had returned to the bar asking who he hit during the fight. 

The bouncer "immediately recognized" Torres as the man who broke the pool cue to use as a weapon. Surveillance footage showed Torres was also one of the men who stomped on the unconscious manager. 

"I broke the pool cue because the black guys were coming at [Tait]," Torres told police. 

Police were called back to the bar and arrested Torres as well. 

The manager suffered a deep laceration under his eye and was taken to a nearby hospital. 

Tait was charged with second degree assault and disorderly conduct. Sheckells was charged with first and second degree assault. Torres was charged with first and second degree assault as well as malicious destruction of property. 

All three men were "apparently under the influence of drugs or alcohol" according to the incident report. 

This article has been updated to accurately reflect the nature of the injuries the Hightopps manager suffered.

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Editor's Note: The surveillance footage originally attached to this story has been removed at the request of a Hightopps owner, citing a security risk.