Prosecutors in the assault case against Boston Bruins veteran Milan Lucic dropped charges on Friday — after filing a motion to use a 911 call made the night of the alleged assault.
In court Friday, Assistant District Attorney Samuel Jones called the 911 operator from that call as a witness. Lucic was inside the courtroom, but his wife refused to testify, citing her spousal privilege.
Lucic faced the judge and listened to the 911 tape his wife recorded the night of the alleged assault.
The Bruins player faced assault charges after an argument with his wife on November 18, 2023.
The woman who called said her “husband” tried to strangle her after he claimed he couldn't find his phone, police said.
Lucic allegedly grabbed her by the hair and pulled her back, saying, “She's not going anywhere.” Officers who responded to the scene said Lucic appeared intoxicated.
Lucic's defense argued that the 911 call should be inadmissible because they said she had time to fabricate her statement to the 911 operator in the time it took her to get downstairs and make the call.
The defense also said his wife told police that the red marks found on her chest were not due to Lucic trying to strangle her.
The hockey forward was arrested last fall on charges of assault and battery on an intimate partner after an incident at his Boston apartment and pleaded not guilty at his trial several days later.
Lucic has been on Indefinite leave He has since left the team and entered the NHL Player Assistance Program.
At a preliminary hearing on Jan. 19, Lucic's attorney requested a trial, waiving his client's right to a jury trial.
According to a police report provided to NBC10 Boston by sources, officers responded to Lucic's residence on Nov. 18 after a woman called 911 saying her husband tried to strangle her.
The woman later identified her husband as Lucic, police said.
According to the police report, Lucic was upset over the cellphone, and at one point, he allegedly grabbed his wife's hair and pulled her back, telling her she wasn't going anywhere.
Lucic's wife told police that during the night, her husband was unable to locate his phone after returning to the apartment after a night out. She said he began yelling at her and asked for his phone back, thinking she had hidden it. She told him she didn't have his phone and didn't know where it was. That's when the assault happened.
When police asked her if Lucic had strangled her, she said no.
Officers said Lucic appeared intoxicated and told them “nothing happened,” but refused to provide further explanation. Then he was arrested.
Police said they saw a broken lamp on one of the tables inside the apartment and what appeared to be a small amount of broken glass on the floor.
Lucic is a veteran of more than 1,300 NHL games with the Bruins, Los Angeles Kings, Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames. He won the Stanley Cup with Boston in 2011 and is back with the team after signing a one-year free agent contract last summer worth $1 million with $500,000 in potential bonus incentives.
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