LetsGoDU

North Dakota Hockey Players Plead Guilty
Towes & Oshie Avoid Lock-Up: For Now

From Grand Forks Herald
by Susanne Nadeau

Two underage UND hockey players charged after being caught at a Grand Forks bar changed their pleas from not guilty to guilty Friday as part of a plea agreement.
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Jonathan Toews, 18, and T.J. Oshie, 20, pleaded guilty to "minor not allowed on liquor premises," a Class B misdemeanor, Friday morning in Grand Forks District Court.
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The two were charged after Grand Forks police responded to a call Jan. 28 at Judy's Tavern, where Toews and Oshie were part of a group that included another UND hockey player, Robbie Bina.
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Bina, 24, was charged with escaping custody the same night for allegedly opening the door of a police car that held one of the other hockey players. No one escaped.

Toews, who has faced similar charges before, was sentenced to 10 days in jail, which will be suspended for one year, meaning he won't serve the time unless he commits another crime, according to Grand Forks municipal prosecutor Kristi Pettit.

He also must serve 30 hours community service, according to court records, and pay a fine of $425 in court fines and fees.

Toews was charged in September with minor in consumption and noisy party gathering. The noisy party gathering charge was dismissed, according to his attorney, Richard Olson.

Oshie was sentenced to unsupervised probation for one year and to pay about $225 in fines and fees. Once the year is complete, the file will be sealed, according to court documents.

The three were first charged in Grand Forks municipal court, but they had the option to request a jury trial in state district court. In February, all three pleaded not guilty to the charges and requested a jury trial, which moved the cases from municipal court to district court, Pettit said.

The maximum penalty for minor on the premises of a liquor establishment is the same in municipal and district court a $1,000 fine and 30 days in jail. One difference between the two courts is that mandatory fees and fines apply in district court, Pettit said.

"It's more than what is imposed at the municipal level," she said.

Both Oshie and Toews were sentenced to pay $225 in mandatory fees. Toews was ordered to pay an additional fee because the charge in February was considered a second offense.

Bina has pleaded not guilty to the escaping custody charge. He's scheduled to appear in a pretrial conference on May 10.