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Evander Kane charges dropped if he can behave for six months

AP
AP

The charges against Evander Kane of the Buffalo Sabres, stemming from an early morning incident at a Buffalo bar in June, will be dropped if Kane can stay out of legal trouble until March 30, according to a court settlement on Monday.

The legal terminology is “an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal of trespassing and harassment charges,” but here’s the deal: Kane faced four counts of non-criminal harassment, one count of disorderly conduct and a count of misdemeanor trespass after a June 24 incident at Bottoms Up, in which three women said they were grabbed by Kane and a male bouncer said he tried to fight him. The misdemeanor trespass charge came from that altercation with the bouncer.

Kane was arrested on July 22.

His lawyer Paul Cambria, who also represented Patrick Kane during his sexual assault investigation last September in Erie County, said Evander Kane requested the adjournment in contemplation of dismissal.

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“We requested that. It was our request. As was indicated this morning, before they would consent to that, they consulted with the individuals who filed the complaints and there was no objection to it,” said Cambria. “This is not unusual for non-criminal violations. This was an appropriate resolution.”

The charges against Kane are technically still pending. If Kane stays out of legal trouble until March 30, the charges are dismissed and the files on the case are sealed.

“Evander has steadfastly maintained that he did nothing wrong, and that position hasn’t changed,” said Cambria.

Acting district attorney Michael Flaherty said the charges against Kane were a “low-level” offense for which an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal would be appropriate.

“His conduct could be described as arrogant, surly and boorish, but what he did, did not rise to the level of a criminal offense,” said Flaherty. “This type of activity in bars occurs every weekend. This was as low-level an offense as we receive.”

Flaherty was also the acting DA when Evander Kane was investigated for an alleged incident of sexual assault at a Buffalo hotel late last year, but did not bring any charges. “After a careful and diligent examination of all the known facts, including the results of forensic and toxicological testing, neither the provable facts nor the applicable law support the filing of any criminal charges or a prosecution in this matter,” he said at the time.

The bar incident, which happened during NHL Draft weekend, created a firestorm around Kane and the Sabres, specifically since the alleged incident involved a physical altercation with women. The Buffalo News, citing police sources, reported in June that Kane grabbed two women by the throat and one by the hair.

According to WKBW, Flaherty said that there is video of Kane ‘scuffling’ with bouncers and grabbing a girl “by the hair and the wrist.” But he reiterated that he would not call Kane’s actions “violent.”

Kane has only appeared in one game this season for the Sabres, before suffering an injury in a crash against the boards. The team never sanctioned or suspended Kane after his arrest. At the time of the incident, Buffalo GM Tim Murray said, “If it’s true then we have to deal with it. If it’s false again, then I guess we have to come up with a different plan of attack to make sure that these accusations that may not be true, how do we stop them [from happening]?”

Well, one solution would be for Kane to not put himself in these types of situations. Which, we imagine, he won’t be doing until at least March 30, if he takes his own advice.

“These situations are what they are,” Kane said in September. “They happen to athletes or people in a position such as myself. Those are things you just have to deal with and kind of come with the territory. In saying that, you have to be a little more aware and kind of put yourself on a higher pedestal than you maybe think you are”

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Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

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