Drug Charges Stayed Against Mike Richards
Things are looking up for Washington Capitals’ forward Mike Richards. He scored his first NHL goal in over a year and has become a regular on the Caps’ third line. More importantly, his personal life is also looking up. On Wednesday, Richards had his drug charge stayed by a Manitoba court basically settling the situation assuming that he continues to walk the straight and narrow.
Last summer Richards was been stopped at the US/Canada border for an issue related to his possession of the prescription pain killer oxycodone. Richards was subsequently charged with possession of a controlled substance. Not long after, the Los Angeles Kings voided his contract citing a ‘material breach’. Richards had five years remaining on his deal with $5.75 million annual salary cap hit. Ultimately, the NHL Players Association helped broker a settlement between the Kings and Richards. He signed a one year, prorated contract with the Capitals early this year.
Richards’ trial had originally been adjourned until February 25. The ‘stayed’ result means that the case can be brought back to court within the next year if Richards were to encounter additional legal trouble. His attorney issued a statement maintaining his client’s innocence: “Mr. Richards always maintained that he would plead not guilty and would defend the case vigorously. After the Crown brief was disclosed to the defense, Mr. Richards’ counsel advised the Crown of fatal defects in the prosecution case. The Crown and defense agreed that a follow-up investigation was warranted. That investigation has been completed and the Crown decided to stay the charge, thereby ending prosecution. Mr. Richards is gratified that the Crown fairly reviewed the case and reasonably recognized that prosecution was not warranted.”
Prior to signing with the Capitals, the team’s lawyer met with Richards’ lawyer and immigration lawyers to make sure that he could play without issue–particularly traveling back and forth across the border as is required by NHL teams. Richards’ says that it was a pretty informal process: “It was a pretty laid back conversation. What my expectations were. What their expectations were. They obviously had to jump through some hoops, and I appreciated that.”
With his legal troubles behind him he can now focus on hockey and he’s already won over his teammates, like Justin Richards: “I think one of the things Mike brings is he brings a winning culture, that’s first and foremost. He’s easy to get along with and I think that’s not a concern but maybe a question they had asked me coming into is what kind of guy is he and I certainly had no problems telling them what type of guy he is and that he’d be great for our dressing room.”