Fan who threw bag of popcorn at basketball game in Lake Park pleads guilty

Phillip Lokken is charged with misdemeanor 5th-degree assault and misdemeanor disorderly conduct. 

UPDATE (FOX 9) – A man charged with assaulting a referee after a high school basketball game in Lake Park– the result of being upset over bad calls – has plead guilty to disorderly conduct.

In March the Audubon Police Department was informed of an incident following a game between Lake Park-Audubon and Win-E-Mac.

According to accounts from the incidents, following a foul call late in the game, a fan identified as 45-year-old Phillip Shawn Lokken tossed a popcorn bag onto the court towards the referee who blew the whistle. The referee then immediately called for the fan to be ejected.

After the physical confrontation, deputies say they spoke with Lokken, who said the ref had been making “bullsh– calls all night” and “he had had enough of that.”

Lokken was initially charged with assault in the fifth degree and disorderly conduct for the incident.

On Tuesday he plead guilty to disorderedly conduct. The misdemeanor has a maximum penalty of 90 days jail or fine of $1,000.

DETROIT LAKES, Minn. (KVRR-KDLM) – A Detroit Lakes man has been charged in Becker County District Court for assaulting a referee at a Lake Park-Audubon basketball game.

Forty-five-year-old Phillip Lokken is accused of throwing a bag of popcorn at a referee during a high school basketball game in January between Lake Park-Audubon and Win-E-Mac.

The referee ejected Lokken.  Lokken flipped off the referee, entered the court and grabbed the referee’s whistle and shirt.

Lokken is charged with misdemeanor 5th-degree assault and misdemeanor disorderly conduct.  A remote court appearance is scheduled for April 28.