Shawn and Laurie Parks of Ottawa charged with assault in Vermont hockey rage incident
CBC News | Posted: March 13, 2015 4:24 PM | Last Updated: March 13, 2015
Couple pleaded not guilty on Tuesday, lawyers say
An Ottawa couple has been charged with assault following an altercation at a January hockey tournament in Vermont in which their child played.
According to affidavits filed by Vermont State Police, 45-year-old Shawn Parks is alleged to have punched a 13-year-old boy during the altercation involving his son and members of an opposing U.S. hockey team.
His wife, 43-year-old Laurie Parks, is alleged to have kicked a 22-year-old man in the groin and scratched him until he bled during the same altercation. She also allegedly assaulted another man who was trying to stop the fight.
Their son had played the team earlier that day, Jan. 24. The incident took place that night at a hotel at the Jay Peak Resort in northern Vermont, where the families of tournament participants were staying.
The affidavit states that the U.S. hockey team and the Parkses had been heckling each other earlier in the evening at a pizza restaurant.
The state trooper who filed the affidavit wrote that Shawn and Laurie Parks "appeared to be intoxicated" while being interviewed on the night of the incident. The Parkses were released, but as part of his release conditions, Shawn Parks was ordered not to consume alcohol.
Lawyers for the couple, Bradley Stetler and Mark Kaplan, said by phone Friday that they have video from the hotel showing that the Parks didn't hit anyone. The lawyers refused to release the video before it has been put forward in court.
The couple pleaded not guilty on Tuesday and the trial is scheduled for this summer. The Parks did not respond to requests for comment on Friday.