MINNEAPOLIS, July 23 (UPI) -- Minnesota authorities have charged the brother of the late NHL forward Derek Boogaard with supplying the player with drugs before his overdose death.
Aaron Boogaard, 24, of Regina, Saskatchewan, was arrested Wednesday in Minneapolis and charged two days later with felony sale of a controlled substance and interference with a death scene, a gross misdemeanor, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.
Hennepin County prosecutor Mike Freeman said Derek Boogaard, 28, had asked Aaron for the drugs because he was preparing for a night of drinking and clubbing after completing a stint in an alcohol rehabilitation program.
He said Aaron gave his brother a non-prescribed pain killer and the next day, May 13, he found Derek dead in their Minneapolis apartment.
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office determined the cause of death was a mix of alcohol and the pain killer oxycodone.
Freeman said Aaron flushed the pills down the toilet after calling police.
Derek Boogaard spent the five first years of his NHL career with the Minnesota Wild, where the 6-foot-7, 240-pound enforcer was known as one of the most feared fighters in the league.
Aaron Boogaard was released on $10,000 bail and is scheduled for a Monday court appearance.
