Winnipeg Assault Charges

Thomas Steen went from a solid scoring forward with the Jets to the political arena as the 53 year-old serves on Winnipeg's city council. He reportedly still plays hockey in the city, but the former Jet now faces a new opponent as he's been arrested on assault charges in the city. As HBIC would like to point out, Mr. Steen is innocent until proven guilty, but this development forced Steen to take an indefinite leave of absence from his position on Winnipeg's city council to deal with this matter personally and legally.

The alleged incident occurred on May 1 at a Boston Pizza on McPhillips Street in Winnipeg. The woman who made the allegation to police is reportedly known to Steen. Needless to say, this could put his work on Winnipeg's city council in serious jeopardy as well tarnishing the reputation of one of the city's heroes. The woman did not suffer serious injury in the altercation, and was reportedly released without medical consultation.

There are little details coming out from City Hall other than Steen has stepped away from his position and will take some time to address personal matters. I'll stick to the "innocent until proven guilty" adage in this case. Here's hoping Mr. Steen can find his way out this predicament to return to his work with the Winnipeg city council.

In other Winnipeg-related crime blotters, Dallas Stars assistant coach James Patrick was arrested after a domestic dispute at his home near Love Field in Dallas. According to Dallas police, the Winnipeg-born Patrick was charged with assault after he shoved his girlfriend during an argument about the contents of his phone.

According to the report written by Tasha Tsiaperas in The Dallas Morning News,

Patrick got to his home in the 9100 block of Chapel Valley Road around 1:20 a.m. April 30. His girlfriend told police Patrick smelled like alcohol and was covered in vomit, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

The woman helped Patrick undress but then confronted him after she saw several "inappropriate text messages" from another woman on his phone, the warrant says.

They began to wrestle over the phone, and Patrick grabbed the woman's throat and pushed her face into the bathroom faucet, police said. She suffered a cut on her lower lip during the incident.

Yikes. That's not good for the 50 year-old Patrick.

Dallas Stars GM Jim Nill issued this statement today, saying, "We're aware of the incident and have spoken to James regarding the matter. We're confident that the authorities will find an appropriate resolution to the situation. We will have no further comment at this time."

Again, Patrick shall be held innocent until proven guilty, but this one kind of seems like a forgone conclusion based on the report above. While neither men were fighters on the ice, it seems they're have to fight for their innocence in a court of law in the upcoming months.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!