newjerseynewsroom.com

New Jersey's Matthew Clemmens taken into custody after tearful admission and apology

BY BOB HOLT

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

A 21-year-old New Jersey man is being sentenced for vomiting on another spectator and his 11-year-old daughter in the stands during a Philadelphia Phillies game.

Kyw.cbslocal.com reports from Philadelphia Family Court that Matthew Clemmens, 21, was going directly to jail. He was taken into custody despite a tearful admission and apology in court.

The Courier Post reports that Matthew Clemmens, of Cherry Hill, N.J., pleaded guilty in May to charges of assault, harassment and disorderly conduct.

According to nbcphiladelphia.com, the judge sentenced Clemmens to 30 to 90 days in prison, two years of probation and 50 hours of community service at Citizens Bank Park.

Clemmens admitted he stuck his fingers down his throat and vomited on Michael Vangelo, an off-duty Easton police captain, and one of Vangelo's daughters at a Phillies-Nationals game at Citizens Bank Park. According to the evidence, that choice of action followed innings of drunken, abusive, disgusting and foul behavior by Clemmens and his friends.

The judge could have hit Clemmens with a two-year sentence. The maximum penalty is two years in jail but guidelines call for probation for first-time offenders.

Clemmens' attorney has said his client has had no prior run-ins with the law and his behavior, which outraged fans in Philadelphia and beyond, was out of character.

During a tearful speech that lasted several minutes, Clemmens admitted what he did and apologized for it, but said that moment in time did not define him and was out of character.

But in the end, the judge found that Clemmens was more similar to a tattoo he has that says "heartless" than the person he portrayed in court, and sentenced him to 1-3 months in prison.