3 Plead To Manslaughter In Phillies Fan's Death

PHILADELPHIA - Three men pleaded guilty Tuesday to manslaughter and conspiracy charges in connection with the fatal beating of a Phillies fan outside a 2009 game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Citizens Bank Park.

According to court records, Charles Bowers, 37, Jim P. Grove, 48, and Francis Kirchner, 30, each pleaded guilty to counts of conspiracy and voluntary manslaughter, with provocation from the individual killed.

Murder charges against Bowers were quashed as part of a "non-negotiated guilty plea," the documents indicate.

Sentencing in the case has been set for Dec. 20 at 9 a.m.

According to media reports, the judge warned Bowers, Grove and Kirchner that they each could get up to 40 years plus fines, although state sentencing guidelines call for much less time.

The judge has also issued a gag order in the case, limiting what the parties and their attorneys can say publicly about it.

Prosecutors allege that two groups sparred several times before the July 2009 melee in a parking lot near the ballpark that left 22-year-old David Sale Jr. of Lansdale dead.

The defendants had gone to the game on a trip sponsored by a city tavern. The feud between the groups allegedly started over a spilled beer.

There was an earlier mistrial in the case back in September 2010 after a problem arose with how testimony was conducted in the case.