(left) Minnesota Duluth recruit Chris Stafne is accused of hitting his girlfriend with a doorFrom: Duluth News-Tribune.com
A 2010-11 University of Minnesota Duluth freshman hockey recruit was arrested early Tuesday on domestic assault charges after allegedly attacking his girlfriend in her College of St. Scholastica dorm room.
Christopher Michael Stafne, 20, of Duluth is charged with fifth-degree domestic assault. He was arrested and booked in the St. Louis County Jail about 2 a.m. Tuesday. He was later released pending his next court appearance, scheduled for June 15.
A court order also was filed Tuesday prohibiting Stafne from having contact with his alleged victim. Stafne returned a reporter’s phone call Tuesday but declined to comment on the charge against him.
According to police reports:
Stafne’s girlfriend told police he has an anger problem. She didn’t want to talk to him Monday night and she turned off her cell phone. She said she was trying to sleep when Stafne showed up at her dorm room. The woman said Stafne was upset with her because he thought she was cheating on him, and his suspicions led him to wanting to see her cell phone.
She said he took the cell phone from her and when she tried to take it back, he pushed her down and she fell between the bed and the dresser.
The woman said that Stafne then went into the bathroom with her cell phone and tried to close the door. She tried to open the door but he pushed her and slammed the door, hitting her with the door. A roommate of the woman said Stafne also was verbally abusive to his girlfriend.
The victim sustained a bruise on her forearm, a scrape with redness on her neck and marks on her back, allegedly as a result of the assault.
Police asked the woman if she thought what Stafne did was an assault. She thought that it was.
The woman was asked if she thought Stafne would seriously injure or kill her. She said that she did not think so, that he just has anger issues.
An officer asked the woman the most frightening event or worst incident of violence she had been subjected to by Stafne. She said Stafne got mad at her last summer, took her phone from her and pushed her down, causing marks on her neck.
Officers went to Stafne’s residence and told him he was being arrested for domestic assault.
According to police reports, Stafne became angry with officers, saying that he didn’t mean for any of it to happen and that it was not that big of a deal. He said he went to the dorm room and the woman “freaked out” and began to swing and hit at him.
Officers observed no injuries on Stafne. He said that he pushed the woman down in an attempt to keep her away from him.
Officers said Stafne became more agitated and yelled at them as he was being arrested. He was asked if he was willing to record an interview. He said that he was not willing to do so, police said.
Stafne told officers that he had never been arrested or charged with any assault-related crimes.
According to court records, Stafne pleaded guilty in 2006 to fifth-degree assault in juvenile court and was adjudicated delinquent. That juvenile conviction is public information because it was a felony offense and Stafne was at least 16 years old at the time of the offense.
Stafne graduated from Denfeld High School in 2008, where he set a school record for goal-scoring with 47 goals and 77 points during the 2007-08 season. He accepted a scholarship from UMD in 2008 to join the Bulldogs after playing in the U.S. Hockey League. He played in that league for Indiana and Fargo during the 2008-09 season and for Des Moines in the 2009-10 season.
Stafne is listed among the UMD freshman recruits for this upcoming season. UMD hockey coach Scott Sandelin did not return a phone call seeking comment Tuesday on the status of his recruit.
Christopher Michael Stafne, 20, of Duluth is charged with fifth-degree domestic assault. He was arrested and booked in the St. Louis County Jail about 2 a.m. Tuesday. He was later released pending his next court appearance, scheduled for June 15.
A court order also was filed Tuesday prohibiting Stafne from having contact with his alleged victim. Stafne returned a reporter’s phone call Tuesday but declined to comment on the charge against him.
According to police reports:
Stafne’s girlfriend told police he has an anger problem. She didn’t want to talk to him Monday night and she turned off her cell phone. She said she was trying to sleep when Stafne showed up at her dorm room. The woman said Stafne was upset with her because he thought she was cheating on him, and his suspicions led him to wanting to see her cell phone.
She said he took the cell phone from her and when she tried to take it back, he pushed her down and she fell between the bed and the dresser.
The woman said that Stafne then went into the bathroom with her cell phone and tried to close the door. She tried to open the door but he pushed her and slammed the door, hitting her with the door. A roommate of the woman said Stafne also was verbally abusive to his girlfriend.
The victim sustained a bruise on her forearm, a scrape with redness on her neck and marks on her back, allegedly as a result of the assault.
Police asked the woman if she thought what Stafne did was an assault. She thought that it was.
The woman was asked if she thought Stafne would seriously injure or kill her. She said that she did not think so, that he just has anger issues.
An officer asked the woman the most frightening event or worst incident of violence she had been subjected to by Stafne. She said Stafne got mad at her last summer, took her phone from her and pushed her down, causing marks on her neck.
Officers went to Stafne’s residence and told him he was being arrested for domestic assault.
According to police reports, Stafne became angry with officers, saying that he didn’t mean for any of it to happen and that it was not that big of a deal. He said he went to the dorm room and the woman “freaked out” and began to swing and hit at him.
Officers observed no injuries on Stafne. He said that he pushed the woman down in an attempt to keep her away from him.
Officers said Stafne became more agitated and yelled at them as he was being arrested. He was asked if he was willing to record an interview. He said that he was not willing to do so, police said.
Stafne told officers that he had never been arrested or charged with any assault-related crimes.
According to court records, Stafne pleaded guilty in 2006 to fifth-degree assault in juvenile court and was adjudicated delinquent. That juvenile conviction is public information because it was a felony offense and Stafne was at least 16 years old at the time of the offense.
Stafne graduated from Denfeld High School in 2008, where he set a school record for goal-scoring with 47 goals and 77 points during the 2007-08 season. He accepted a scholarship from UMD in 2008 to join the Bulldogs after playing in the U.S. Hockey League. He played in that league for Indiana and Fargo during the 2008-09 season and for Des Moines in the 2009-10 season.
Stafne is listed among the UMD freshman recruits for this upcoming season. UMD hockey coach Scott Sandelin did not return a phone call seeking comment Tuesday on the status of his recruit.
7 comments:
It will be interesting to see if UMD keeps him, suspends him or drops him in light of these allegations.
After what happened with the Lacrosse player in Virginia and the similarities to this case, its very doubtful.
LOL! Damien = you are the KING!
S C R E W the Bulldogs! I humbly predict a Jason Zucker hattrick against these losers
He will be transfering to North Dakota.
Certainly don't condone this player's actions...but what wrong with the Bulldogs?
They've got great fans, not a huge rival of ours, and are probably one of my favorite teams in the WCHA. I've got no conflicting emotions rooting for them in the NCAAs (like I do with Wisc, UND, Minn and CC)
I thought it was going to be some boring old post, but it really compensated for my time. I will post a link to this page on my blog. I am sure my visitors will find that very useful
http://host.madison.com/wsj/sports/hockey/article_650d4260-6a81-11df-b677-001cc4c002e0.html
A Bad Boyz Nominee coming from UW now too.
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