Prosecutors dropped a domestic violence charge against Boston Bruins forward Milan Lucic on Friday.
The 35-year-old’s wife, Brittany, invoked marital privilege and declined to testify against him, according to the Boston Globe.
Lucic had pleaded not guilty to a charge of assault and battery on a family member stemming from an altercation at their North End condo on Nov. 18, 2023.
“Milan is very happy,” Gary G. Pelletier, Lucic’s attorney, said after they exited the Boston Municipal Court on Friday morning. “He’s looking forward to get his life back on track and get his career back on track.”
During the Nov. 18 incident, a 911 caller claimed the NHL veteran, “tried to choke me tonight… He literally held my throat.”
Brittany Lucic met officers in the lobby of their condo, telling them the winger had returned home and “began yelling at her, demanding his phone back, believing she had hidden the phone,” according to the police report, which also described “redness” on her neck.
As she walked away from him, he “grabbed her by the hair and pulled her backwards,” police wrote. “She stated that in doing so, the suspect stated to her that she was not going anywhere.”
Pelletier argued that the 911 called was never confirmed by the operator to be Brittany Lucic and Judge Paul M. Treseler ruled prosecutors could not rely on the call in place of her testimony, further weakening their case.
Lucic has been on indefinite leave from the Bruins since his arrest.
The 6-foot-3 bruiser reunited with the team that drafted him in 2006 on a one-year deal this past offseason.
He initially played in Boston from 2007-2015 before being traded to the Los Angeles Kings and playing for the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames before coming back to Boston as a free agent.
He posted two assists in four games before being placed on leave.
Credit: Source link
