After more than a year of court cases and months of confinement in a state facility at St. Peter, Minnesota, Mark Pavelich, one of the heroes on the 1980 Miracle on Ice U.S. gold medal winning hockey team, was back in Cook County Sixth District Judicial Court on Tuesday, September 15.
During the hearing, Pavelich was given the option of a pre-trial release with $20,000 set aside for bail or putting up $500,000 in bail and then being released with no conditions.
The soft-spoken Pavelich, who eschews the limelight, was arrested on August 15, 2019, at his Lutsen home, after allegedly assaulting a neighbor with a metal pipe following an afternoon of fishing.
Pavelich accused his neighbor, James T. Miller, 63, of “spiking his beer” and claimed that was the reason for attacking him. Miller was transferred to the hospital, where, among his injuries he was found to have a bruised kidney, two cracked ribs, and a fractured vertebra.
Mark, a star forward on the 1980 Olympic team that defeated the Soviet Union in the “Miracle on Ice” hockey game, was first arraigned in District Court in Grand Marais on Monday, August 19, 2019.
During his first court appearance Pavelich was charged with four felony counts, second and third-degree assault, for allegedly striking his neighbor with a metal pole. Additionally, he was also charged with having an illegally shortened shotgun whose serial numbers had been filed off.
On October 28, 2019, Judge Cuzzo found Pavelich to be mentally incompetent to stand trial, and he was ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation. Duluth psychologist Dr. Chris Bowerman and Dr. Jacquiline Buffington each met with Pavelich and examined him.
Dr. Buffington found Mark to suffer from “mild neurocognitive disorder” due to traumatic brain injury likely related to a series of head injuries sustained over a lifetime.
And, she noted, Mark suffered from “Posttraumatic stress disorder” and “some cognitive disturbance,” adding that during an interview, Pavelich responded irreverently at times and “struggled to find words to express himself.
“He believes he has been poisoned, and friends and family have damaged his property,” said Dr. Buffington.
Dr. Bowerman said Mark stated he was a victim of attempted poisoning by his family, friends, and neighbors. Since 2015, he had gotten back at those folks who were allegedly trying to harm him by damaging their property.
After weighing testimony from the two court appointed psychologists, Sixth Judicial Judge Michael Cuzzo found Pavelich to be “mentally ill and dangerous.” He ordered Mark to be civilly committed at a secure state facility in St. Peter, Minnesota.
During the epic 1980 game against the Soviet Union Mark made the assist on U.S. captain Mike Eruzione’s winning goal. The Americans would next defeat Finland to win the gold medal.
Following the Olympics Mark played professional hockey for the New York Rangers for five years. He also played professionally overseas for a short time before hanging up his skates .
On the ice Pavelich, standing 5’7” and weighing 160 pounds, was fearless. He was noted for going into the corners to fight for the puck against much bigger players and he suffered a lot of hits to the head. His family believes Mark suffers from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). CTE is a neurodegenerative disease found in professional football players and in professional hockey players who suffered from repeated head trauma.
CTE affects moods and memory; people who suffer from it can become disoriented and angered easily. To date, the disease can only be diagnosed posthumously.
Pavelich will be back in court on October 13.
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