Man stabbed in bar over baseball dispute

Branford, Conn. (WTNH) - A New Hampshire man remains in critical condition after he was stabbed in the neck with a knife after a dispute over the Yankees and Red Sox escalated into violence.

It happened just after 10:30 p.m. Saturday at the Chowder Pot Restaurant on East Main Street in Branford.

45-year-old John Mayor of New Haven was arrested after he fled into the parking lot.

Sergeant David Galdenzi says that when the first officer arrived he noticed a number of men chasing Mayor towards the rear of the parking area.

"Mayor turned, looked at the officer, removed the knife from his jacket and threw it into the woods." said Galdenzi. "He then began to fight with friends of the victim before he was taken into custody by the officer with the assistance of the friends."

Police were able to retrieve the knife after a lengthy search of the heavily wooded area.

The victim, 47-year-old Monte Freire of Nashua, New Hampshire was treated by paramedics and then transported to Yale-New Haven Hospital where he underwent emergency surgery.

Detective Lieutenant William Carroll said that Freire and his friends were in Connecticut for a baseball tournament over the weekend.

"At this point we believe that the argument erupted between Freire and Mayor while they were in the bar over something as simple as being rival professional baseball team fans," Det. Carroll said.

Mayor was charged with 1st Degree Assault, as well as interfering with an officer, tampering with evidence, breach of peace and possession of a controlled substance.

He is being held on a $500,000.00 bond

Johnathan Smith, the man identifying himself as the owner of the Chowder Pot, issued the following statement Sunday morning:

"From what I understand there were seven gentlemen having dinner in the dining room and the victim went to the bar and ordered one beer and there was a heated discussion over the Yankees and Boston.

"There was no fight. The guy got up and stabbed the victim twice in the neck and then ran out of the building. One of the managers chased the man to the back of the building and tackled him with help from three others.

"After 30 years in business, we've never had anything like this happen before, and our thoughts and prayers are with the victim and his family and hoping for a speedy recovery."