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Disorderly conduct charge against Auston Matthews dismissed

The disorderly conduct and disruptive behaviour charges against Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews have been dismissed.

Those charges were made against Matthews after an incident in Scottsdale, Arizona last May, when a female security guard at Matthews’ condo complex, Fayola Dozithee, filed a complaint against the 22-year-old for trying to break into her car while she was in it doing paperwork at 2 a.m.

According to the police report, Dozithee added that she was terrified by the actions of Matthews and the friends he was with at the time. Matthews was also accused of pulling down his pants and grabbing his buttocks (with his underwear on) sometime after the initial incident took place.

The two sides have now come to an agreement on a financial settlement that would simply dismiss the charges against Matthews.
“On Nov. 13 the matter was settled between the parties and the criminal matter was dismissed,” a spokesperson from the City of Scottsdale’s communications department said, per the Toronto Star.

Despite the fact that the incident occurred in May, it only came to light during Maple Leafs training in late September.

“It’s not something that I think any of us really wish we were talking about today. Unfortunately, it’s the situation we’re in,” Matthews told reporters during camp. “I regret any of my actions that would ever put a distraction on the team or distress any individual.

“I take a lot of pride in preparing myself for the season and representing the Toronto Maple Leafs as well as I can. Unfortunately due to the situation, I’m afraid I can’t really make any other comments.”

According to TSN’s Rick Westhead, Arizona prosecutors and Matthews’ lawyers were scheduled to meet at a trial readiness conference on Nov. 27. That will no longer be necessary.

UPDATE: Matthews apologized on Friday saying, “I just want to reiterate again just how sorry I am for my actions, my behaviour. I never meant to cause any distress to this woman. I can assure you I’ve learned from my mistakes and my actions, and its something for myself to just strive every day to be better in every aspect of my life.”

Leafs president Brendan Shanahan released this statement:

“The Toronto Maple Leafs are committed to developing and promoting the qualities of good character, respect and equality in our organization, including our players, and we recognize and embrace the role we serve in the community. While Auston has been an exceptional ambassador for the Leafs in representing those values, his conduct in this incident last May failed to meet expectations.

“We appreciate that Auston has publicly reiterated today that he is truly sorry for his conduct and has recognized the impact his actions caused. We have no doubt that he has learned a valuable lesson and will grow from this experience.”

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Joey Alfieri is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @joeyalfieri.