After being arrested last night, former NHL player and current TSN and ESPN analyst Matthew Barnaby pleaded not guilty to five charges today, according to the Buffalo News. Those five charges included: “felony criminal mischief, criminal contempt, criminal trespass, harassment and aggravated harassment.” The most serious charge is felony criminal mischief, which reportedly carries a maximum sentence of four years (if convicted).
Few details of the incident have emerged, other than the fact that the two alleged victims include Barnaby’s ex-wife and another adult. The Amherst, New York police did report that no one was injured and there was no physical contact during the incident, though.
Barnaby has been ordered not to come into contact with either of the victims, even through a third party, according to the report. Here is a little more information about the situation, via that Buffalo News story.Farrell issued similar no-contact court orders prohibiting Barnaby from having any contact, even through a third party, with either victim in the case. The other victim is believed to be a friend, not a relative, of his estranged wife.
Rachel L. Newton, chief of the Erie County District Attorney’s Domestic Violence Bureau, requested $15,000 bail for Barnaby, who law-enforcement sources said was jailed overnight Friday.
Farrell, though, released Barnaby on his own recognizance, after his attorneys, David H. Elibol and Michael H. Kooshoian, cited their client’s strong ties to the Buffalo community.