Gavin McKenna assault case leads to furnishing alcohol charges for mom of hockey star
The mother of Penn State hockey star Gavin McKenna was charged last week after investigators said she plied her son and two others with alcohol just hours before he was accused of breaking a man’s jaw in downtown State College.
Krystal D. McKenna, 44, of Canada, was charged by summons with two misdemeanor counts of furnishing alcohol to minors after a liquor control enforcement officer said she was seen on video either buying or distributing alcohol inside Doggie’s Pub.
Defense attorney Jason Dunkle declined comment Friday when reached by the Centre Daily Times. Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 3.
The charges are likely to put a renewed spotlight on the family of the consensus first overall pick in the upcoming NHL draft, which is slated to begin the final Friday in June.
The investigation was launched after the press reported McKenna — identified in an affidavit of probable cause as a white, non-Hispanic male minor — assaulted a man after leaving the bar.
A liquor control officer said surveillance footage showed Krystal McKenna give her son an alcoholic drink about 6:55 p.m. Jan. 31. Minutes later, the officer said the younger McKenna, 18, was seen drinking the alcohol from a plastic cup.
Krystal McKenna then went to the bar, ordered two mixed drinks containing vodka and handed one of them to her son, the officer wrote. She also poured her mixed drink into cups the two underage females were seen drinking from, according to the affidavit.
The document seemed to indicate all three were wearing a wristband to signal they were underage. None appeared to be charged. A Centre County prosecutor declined comment when reached by the CDT.
Doggie’s — which previously allowed those under 21 into the pub before 7 p.m. if accompanied by a parent — seemingly changed its policy in the months since. According to its website, underage guests are not permitted “at this time.”
Where does Gavin McKenna’s case stand?
About an hour and 20 minutes after Gavin McKenna’s last documented drink, he was accused of twice punching a 21-year-old man on the right side of his face, leaving blood on the pavement near the Pugh Street Parking Garage.
State College police said in a separate affidavit of probable cause that McKenna met with others — the affidavit did not specify who or how many people — for a “hockey event” after the outdoor hockey game at Beaver Stadium.
Upon leaving, police said there was an exchange of words between the man, his friends and the group McKenna was with. The specifics were not detailed and Centre County District Attorney Bernie Cantorna has declined to shed light on what was said.
A source with knowledge of McKenna’s perspective told the CDT the man began heckling McKenna and his mother after the game and the situation escalated when the person began name-calling McKenna’s mother. Cantorna said a verbal argument “never is justification for physical violence against another human being.”
The man had surgery to address a fractured jaw, which police said would be wired shut for about two weeks in February unless further medical intervention was necessary.
McKenna’s next court appearance — a pretrial conference with Centre County Judge Julia Rater — is scheduled for Monday. He’s facing a misdemeanor count of simple assault and a summary counts of harassment and disorderly conduct.
He was initially charged with a felony count of aggravated assault, but prosecutors quickly withdrew the charge after saying it was not supported by a review of video evidence. Cantorna said McKenna did not act with intent to cause serious bodily injury or a reckless indifference to the value of human life — elements needed to support the charge.
McKenna remains free on $20,000 unsecured bail. He did not miss a game after the alleged assault and is still projected to be the first overall pick in the draft. Several NHL evaluators told ESPN they were not concerned with the incident.
“From the information I gathered, I don’t consider it to be a big deal or something that would affect his draft stock at all,” ESPN reported, citing one person who scouted McKenna extensively.
McKenna, who paid homage to former UFC champion Connor McGregor after scoring a goal in a victory over Ohio State, didn’t seem to believe the allegations will greatly affect his future during a documentary that aired on TruTV.
“People in the past have thought of me as kind of a soft player,” McKenna said with a smile during “The McKenna Project.” “Maybe that helped me in a little bit there.”
The documentary is next scheduled to air 12:30 a.m. Sunday.
