Gavin McKenna, top NHL prospect, gets felony assault charge withdrawn

A Pennsylvania district attorney’s office has withdrawn a felony aggravated assault charge against top NHL prospect Gavin McKenna and will proceed instead with a misdemeanour simple assault charge, citing insufficient evidence to support the felony count.

A criminal complaint filed Wednesday alleged McKenna, a star hockey player at Penn State University, punched a man twice on the right side of the face after two groups exchanged words in the downtown neighbourhood of the municipality where the university is located.

The incident was said to have taken place on the evening of Jan. 31, sometime after Penn State’s 5-4 overtime loss to Michigan State in an outdoor game that drew 74,575 at Beaver Stadium in State College, Penn.

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The complaint also alleged the victim sustained fractures to both sides of his jaw that required surgery and that he was missing a tooth. State College Police later confirmed the victim suffered two fractures to one side of his jaw, not both, and was not missing a tooth. The victim has undergone surgery and is recovering.

The district attorney’s office said in a release Friday that to establish probable cause for aggravated assault, “the Commonwealth must establish that a person acted with the intent to cause serious bodily injury or acted recklessly under circumstances showing an extreme indifference to the value of human life.”

After a review of video evidence of the alleged incident, the district attorney’s office and police determined there was no such intent.

“Accordingly, the District Attorney’s Office will be withdrawing the felony count of Aggravated Assault and correcting the record regarding the injuries suffered by the victim,” the release said. “A review of the video does not support a conclusion that Gavin McKenna acted with the intent to cause serious bodily injury or with reckless indifference to the value of human life.”

In Pennsylvania, aggravated assault is a violent felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

The prosecution will proceed with the misdemeanour simple assault charge, in addition to harassment and disorderly conduct.

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