A man who jumped onstage during a Taylor Swift concert at Petco Park in 2015 and was tackled by members of her security team — seriously injuring one of them — was charged Thursday with murder for allegedly beating a man to death in the Midway District earlier this month.
Christian Ewing, 29, was arrested last Friday for a parole violation and was re-arrested Monday in the death of 57-year-old Gregory Freeman. Judge Joseph Brannigan rescheduled Ewing’s arraignment to Friday afternoon because the defendant refused to come out of his jail cell.
Ewing faces 27 years to life if convicted of Freeman’s murder and allegations that he used a baseball bat in the attack.
Freeman was found Dec. 5 in the 3900 block of Rosecrans Street near the Interstate 5 overpass, police said. Freeman, who had trauma to his upper body, was taken to a hospital but died four days later.
One witness told police that Freeman was on the ground when a man began to hit him with some sort of object. The attacker then fled, said San Diego Police Lt. Anthony Dupree.
More than three years ago, Ewing sneaked into Swift’s concert and jumped onstage while she was performing. He was tackled by security guards, one of whom suffered a broken rib. Ewing pleaded guilty to assault and was sentenced to probation and given credit for three years in custody.
Updated at 3:20 p.m. Dec. 27, 2018
–City News Service