Penn State Hockey Star Gavin McKenna Dodges Felony Assault Charge

Penn State hockey player and top NHL prospect Gavin McKenna is no longer facing a felony assault charge for allegedly punching a man outside of a local bar, Centre County (Pa.) prosecutors announced Friday. 

The district attorney’s office released a statement saying it would withdraw the aggravated assault charge against 18-year-old McKenna after reviewing video footage of the incident, which occurred on Jan. 31 after the Michigan State–Penn State outdoor game at Beaver Stadium that day. 

“Both the District Attorney’s Office and the State College Police Department have reviewed video evidence of this incident and do not believe that a charge of Aggravated Assault is supported by the evidence,” the statement says. 

Police said the footage came from cameras owned by the borough of State College, The Athletic reported, according to an affidavit of probable cause obtained from the office of Magisterial District Judge Casey McClain. According to the affidavit, two friends who accompanied the victim to the hospital recounted the series of events to the responding officers. The officers observed that the victim had dried blood on his lips, appeared to be missing a tooth, and was having trouble speaking. 

A felony aggravated assault charge in Pennsylvania requires evidence showing the defendant acted with intent “or acted recklessly under circumstances showing an extreme indifference

to the value of human life,” according to the DA’s statement. “A review of the video does not support a conclusion that Gavin McKenna acted with the intent to cause serious bodily injury or with reckless indifference to the value of human life.”

The DA’s office notes that the original complaint alleges that after McKenna punched the victim twice on the right side of the face, the victim “sustained fractures to both sides of his jaw which would require surgery and that he was missing a tooth.” Penn State’s student news site, Onward State, first reported that McKenna allegedly broke the individual’s jaw during the incident. 

The letter from the DA’s office notes that, upon follow-up by State College Police, the victim is not missing a tooth and that the victim suffered two fractures to one side of his jaw, as opposed to both sides of his jaw.” The victim did undergo corrective surgery, and according to Onward State he will have his jaw wired shut for two weeks.  

The DA’s said it “will be withdrawing the felony count of Aggravated Assault and correcting the record regarding the injuries suffered by the victim.”

McKenna is still facing a misdemeanor simple assault charge, which carries a maximum of two years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000, and two summary charges of harassment and disorderly conduct.