NEWBURGH HEIGHTS, Ohio (WJW) – Video released to the FOX 8 I-Team showed Newburgh Heights Mayor Trevor Elkins in a fight at a basketball game for 6th-grade girls.
The confrontation caught on camera happened on the court.
In the middle of it was a mayor leading a town notorious for speed cameras. A mayor in trouble with the law before.
Summit County Sheriff’s deputies investigated a fight between two fathers, including Elkins.
It happened in January, but it’s just coming to light now exposed by the I-Team.
A report showed Elkins “was involved in a fight at Nordonia Middle School.”
He said he went to watch his daughter play basketball. Then, he got into a fight with another parent when girls in the game got into a dispute that turned physical.
Deputy body camera included Elkins showing investigators video on his phone.
“That’s me in the blue. The guy that hits me is in yellow,” he said. “Some strange man runs on the court, so I went out there to make sure nothing was gonna happen.”
“He punches me, so I obviously get angry,” he continued. “Went after him in response to that. I’m being restrained and he punches me again.”
As deputies investigated, they also spoke to the other parent involved, listed in a report as Kevin Travick.
“Dude ran up and swung on me,” he said. “He swung on me because I was talking to the refs. Then, I start yelling at the refs.He said something to me. I said something to him and everybody just grabbed us, and that was it.’
“Honestly unbelievable,” an officials with the youth basketball league told deputies. “One guy, like, shoved up on him. Pushed up on him and the other one slapped him in the face.”
“They were both at fault?” a deputy asked.
“They were both at fault, in my opinion,” the league official answered.
Deputies charged both the mayor and Travick each with disorderly conduct. Records show both men plead no contest. Both had to pay small fines, but this marks just the latest case of Elkins in the headlines.
There’s a good chance you’ve seen the I-Team question Elkins again and again about the village of Newburgh Heights collecting millions of dollars in fines from speed camera tickets.
In 2023, Elkins faced a charge of disorderly conduct for a fight outside a bar.
Also, Elkins had been the mayor of Newburgh Heights for years. Then, a judge gave him 30 days in jail on charges tied to dipping into his campaign account, but he later won reelection.
In this case, Elkins also told investigators, “after he hit me, I did go after him, but I didn’t make contact with him.”
“You were in a physical altercation, and so was the other guy, in a school during school hours in front of other kids,” a deputy told Elkins.
In addition to seeing what the mayor told investigators, we reached out to him to see if he wanted to send a statement to FOX 8. He did send a statement that said:
“I was attending my daughter’s basketball game. The play prior to the play which led to the incident, a girl from the other team tackled my daughter after she had stolen the ball and was shooting a layup. My daughter then took free throws. On the next trip down the floor, the same girl engaged in a very aggressive action against another of our team’s girls. Apparently, the father of the aggressive girl decided he should intervene and went charging onto the court. Seeing a strange man that had been shouting obscenities earlier in the game run onto a court where my daughter was, I responded to ensure he had no ill intent. MY DAUGHTER WAS ON THE COURT! As you can see by this video of the event, this gentleman sucker punched me. At that time I became irate and had to be restrained. Yes, I received a ticket for a minor misdemeanor and paid a fine. The individual that physically struck me twice received a 4th degree misdemeanor. I received the ticket because I went onto the floor and was not a coach. If it happens again, I will go back onto the floor again to protect my daughter and our team’s girls as none of us had zero understanding of this man’s intent. Period.
