Jarret Stoll Deal: Hockey Player Accepts Plea Deal On Drug Charge
Hockey player Jarret Stoll has taken a deal in the drug case against him, and the felony cocaine count will instead be reduced to two misdemeanor counts. The plea agreement was approved Thursday morning in a Las Vegas Court.
Stoll had been facing up to four years of jail time if convicted on the felony charge. According to the Los Angeles Times, Jarret now will need to do 32 hours of community service within the next the next 120 days. Stoll’s lawyer, David Chesnoff, says that his client has already started his community service.
The Los Angeles King hockey player is said to be doing his service in part by creating a hockey program for Las Vegas at-risk youth. He is also going to be working with the Clark County Salvation Army.
In addition, Stoll is planning to donate around $50,000 worth of hockey equipment to the youth program. The area is anticipating an NHL expansion team coming soon, so it is expected that the youth program will get a boost from incoming established players.
The court case stemmed from an April incident when Stoll was found with drugs as he underwent a pat-down by security before entering a pool party at the MGM Grand. He was charged earlier in the week with a felony cocaine possession count related to the case, but in the plea deal the charge was changed to misdemeanor charges of trespassing and commission of breach of peace.
ESPN reports that Jarret will next be in court on August 27 to provide an update on his community service. In a statement, Stoll said that he is grateful for the chance to provide guidance to kids, and he’s ready to share some positive life lessons with youth as a part of the deal. He adds that his focus remains on hockey, and he is anxious to return to the ice.
Though Stoll has played for the Kings for the past few seasons, it is not expected that he will remain with the team for this next season. He is slated to become an unrestricted free agency on July 1.
As a native Canadian, the felony cocaine charge could have led to some immigration issues for Stoll. Now that the case has been resolved with misdemeanor charges, it is not expected that he will have any issues on that front.
Where will the hockey player land next? While it has been reported that Jarret Stoll is still with his girlfriend, sports reporter and Dancing With the Stars co-host Erin Andrews, they have not been seen publicly together since his arrest, and she hasn’t commented on the incident.
[Photo by Angela Weiss/Getty Images]
