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Second teen indicted in fatal brawl
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BALTIMORE (Map, News) - A Howard County grand jury indicted a second teenager for allegedly instigating a brawl that left a high school football player dead.
Corey Lehnhoff, 18, of Ellicott City, faces first- and second-degree assault, dangerous weapons and riot charges stemming from a melee in February involving 20 young males at Mount Hebron High School.
If convicted, Lehnhoff could be sentenced to 80 years in prison for the assault charges alone.
The brawl resulted in the death of Lehnhoff’s best friend, Robert Brazell Jr., 18, of Ellicott City, who was a former Mount Hebron High School student.
Howard police arrested Lehnhoff on Nov. 6, but he was released from the county’s detention center Nov. 7 after he posted a $100,000 bond. The grand jury’s indictment came down Wednesday, said Wayne Kirwan, spokesman for Howard’s state’s attorney’s office.
Lehnhoff “was out in front of the group of males, ripped off his shirt, approached an opposing male and began arguing. This act began the brawl,” according to charging documents.
Witnesses said Lehnhoff, who attended Mount Hebron High, used an aluminum baseball bat to hit Hammond High School student Jacob Sams, 18, of Columbia, in the head three times. Lehnhoff also allegedly hit another teenager repeatedly in the stomach with the bat.
“Sams reportedly has suffered permanent brain damage from this assault,” according to charging documents.
Court records show police charged Sams with possession of marijuana six months after the incident. Hammond High School student Evan Tubbs, 18, of Columbia, said Lehnhoff and three other males struck him with fists, shoes and a bottle.
Sams and Tubbs were transported to University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore City for their injuries, according to charging documents.
“I don’t know whether [Lehnhoff] was the initial aggressor,” said Lehnhoff’s attorney Joseph Murtha.
“It’s unusual for someone to be charged so long after the initial instance, so it’s going to take some time to piece together the various statements.”
Murtha said the charges were delayed almost a year, because witnesses could not provide the state with information because of their injuries from the brawl.
Calls to Lehnhoff’s house were not answered.
Former Oakland Mills wrestler Kevin Klink, 18, of Columbia, was indicted for murder in April for swinging the baseball bat at Brazell’s head that left him brain dead, according to court records.
Brazell’s family took him off life support. Klink is being held at the county’s detention center without bond and awaiting trial in Howard Circuit Court in February.
cpeirce@baltimoreexaminer.com
Comments from Examiner Readers
3:09 PM MST on Mon., Feb. 11, 2008 re: "Community laments path of 2 teens"
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12:50 PM MST on Mon., Feb. 11, 2008
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12:22 PM MST on Wed., Feb. 6, 2008
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7:29 AM MST on Wed., Dec. 5, 2007
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11:23 PM MST on Tue., Dec. 4, 2007
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Examiner Reader said:
Mary Ann Carroll needs to have her head examined. "It's a shame he's taking the blame?" Mary Ann what you are failing to see is Kevin is the one that chose to take a baseball bat to someone's skull and strike them with so much force it killed him. She should think a little more before making a statement to the press. The entire event is unfortunate and all involved are guilty of stupidity.However, Kevin Klink is solely responsible for taking another persons life.
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Examiner Reader said:
Too bad we don't actually use the death penalty. Klink deserves it. The parents of both victim and attacker should be put behind bars. Call it "Gross Parental Negligance". The saddest thing of all is the amount of teens that were involved who lack character and conviction.
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Examiner Reader said:
what a disgusting comment and proof to why these kids went bad in the first place. Premeditation is on the part of a huge gang of kids that prepared and gathered weapons and gathered forces to attack and then traveled to and then called to instigate and draw out the other kids ( who were not prepared) on their own high school field. Instantly outnumbered and outraged at the sign of weapons they stood and fought and watched one of their own,go down in a senseless act of violence ( a picture of their friend in a pool of blood etched in their memories for the rest of their lives)and yet when the very weapons that the misguided youths brought were in turn used on them in an act of self defense a question is still asked why more aren't in jail? Then all those present should go to jail including the poor child Jacob who also suffered because in essence if the table were turned and Jacob was the better fighter then Lehnhoff would have been hurt.
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Moose said:
'Informed Reader': Does it really matter if he was struck 3 times or only once? Apparently you hang out with these thugs. Anyone involved with this brawl should be in jail...3 swings or 1
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informed reader said:
Dear examiner, you need to get your facts straight. jacob was struck only once, and his marijuana charges.. really, did we need to incude that? maybe he's just acting out because of the trauma endured. brazell was struck three times and was a high-school drop out and a druggie. However, because his parents pulled the plug he gets to look like the good guy. My sympathies to his family for their loss but he endangered his own life by attending this fight. My only question is why isn't that Lehnhoff kid in jail too.. Kevin Klink still is, and there was a possibly that Jacob could have died that night too. He did suffer an epidurmal hematoma to the left temporal lobe.
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