Jr. B hockey player charged with attack on soldier
By MICHAEL JIGGINS
Staff Writer
MORRISBURG -- Provincial police here have charged a defenceman with the town's Junior 'B' hockey team in the beating of war hero Collin Fitzgerald.
Travis Baldwin, 21, was arrested Sunday and charged with aggravated assault in connection with the attack on Fitzgerald, 27, in a bar early Saturday morning.
Baldwin was released with conditions and Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry OPP made his name public Tuesday.
Fitzgerald was knocked unconscious in the attack, which happened while he was sitting with a friend at the bar in his hometown just before 2 a.m. Saturday.
He has said he has no memory of what happened, although witnesses reported seeing four men jump him from behind and begin kicking and punching him.
"I woke up and I couldn't walk on my foot and my face was just gushing with blood," he told Sun Media.
Fitzgerald was treated at hospital in Winchester and suffered broken bones in his foot and cuts to his face among other injuries.
A rugged defenceman and five-year veteran of the Morrisburg Lions, Baldwin will not be in the lineup when his team suits up at home tonight for the crucial Game 4 in its second-round series with Alexandria.
The Lions trail two games to one.
Lions GM Ron Casselman said the team suspended Baldwin at a meeting Monday night. He said he has not spoken with Baldwin since the arrest.
Even without the suspension, Baldwin could not have played any night games as he is subject to a curfew as part of his release conditions.
Casselman expressed disappointment that the team has been dragged into the incident in news reports.
"It's got nothing to do with the hockey. It was in a bar afterwards," said Casselman, who does not think the incident will hurt his team.
"I'll know more after we've played tonight, we haven't played since then. (But) I can't see it reflecting anything on it."
As for his reaction to Baldwin's arrest, Casselman said he was stunned.
"It still puzzles me. I'm still wondering what happened - something had to happen to trigger it," he told The Recorder and Times.
He described Baldwin as an on-ice bodyguard for his teammates, who was willing to jump in to protect them.
"If somebody gets a little rough, well then he'll get a little rough back É he has a short fuse, you know," explained Casselman.
Listed as five-feet-11 and weighing 220 pounds, Baldwin played 20 games with the Lions this year, racking up seven points and 294 penalty minutes.
Casselman said Baldwin missed several games early in the season with a broken hand.
"He's a very likable kid. He's easy going off the ice. I was surprised at it, really, really surprised," he said.
Fitzgerald was awarded the Medal of Military Valour by Governor General Michaelle Jean for his heroic actions in Afghanistan last May.
He braved enemy fire during an ambush, driving a burning platoon vehicle off the road so his comrades could get out of the line of fire.
Fitzgerald, a master corporal, was among the first four Canadian soldiers to earn the medal, which was created in 1993 for valour in combat.
OPP Constable Paul Murphy said this morning police are continuing their investigation as they make their way through a list of witnesses.
"We've had a good supply of people calling in," said Murphy, who would not say if police expect to charge anyone else.
The constable said Baldwin does not have a criminal record and will make his first court appearance on May 1 in Morrisburg.
http://newsfeed.recorder.ca/cgi-bin/...acgi$rec=21656
2 more arrested in Morrisburg soldier beating
Last Updated: Thursday, March 15, 2007 | 3:31 PM ET
CBC News
Another two men have been arrested and charged with assaulting a decorated soldier at a bar in his hometown of Morrisburg, Ont., early Saturday morning.
Ian Tait, 22, and Jeremy Stewart, 19, have each been charged with assault causing bodily harm, said an Ontario Provincial Police news release issued Thursday. Both men are from Morrisburg, about 60 kilometres southeast of Ottawa.
They will appear in court on May 1, along with Travis Baldwin, 21, of Morrisburg, who was charged Monday with aggravated assault.
OPP Const. Paul Murphy said witnesses are still calling police with information about the beating that left Master Cpl. Collin Fitzgerald unconscious, with a broken nose, fractured foot, and other injuries.
"Whether other charges will come out of that, that's a guess," Murphy said. "At this point we have to see what evidence comes out and what people saw."
Fitzgerald, 27, won a Medal of Military Valour for his service in Afghanistan.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/stor...g-charges.html