One of the stars of the “Miracle on Ice” 1980 Olympic gold medal hockey team, Mark Pavelich, who was arrested last fall and charged with four felonies connected with beating his neighbor with a metal pipe, has been found competent to stand trial.
Last month Judge Michael Cuzzo found that based on Mark’s most recent mental evaluations Mark, “has sufficient ability to rationally consult with counsel and participate in his defense.”
Following his arrest, a complaint was filed against Pavelich, alleging he had committed assault in the second degree, assault in the third degree, and that he had a firearm with a missing or altered serial number.
Two of the felony accounts were for Mark’s attack on his Lutsen neighbor and fishing partner that day, James T. Miller, 63. Pavelich told authorities that he believed Miller had spiked his beer and attacked Miller after they had completed their fishing trip. Miller was transferred to North Shore Health hospital, where he was found to have a bruised kidney, cracked ribs, and a fractured vertebra.
When searching Mark’s house, Cook County law enforcement found a shotgun whose barrel had been sawed off shorter than the legal 26 inches. The serial numbers on that shotgun had also been altered or were missing.
On October 28, 2019, Judge Cuzzo found Pavelich to be mentally incompetent to stand trial, and Mark was ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation by two Duluth psychologists, Dr. Chris Bowerman and Dr. Jacqueline Buffington.
Dr. Bowerman said it was her opinion that Mark suffers from “Unspecified Neurocognitive Disorder, and from post-traumatic stress disorder and delayed expression with secondary psychotic features. Pavelich, she said, has “serious and persistent mental illness,” and he is “mentally ill and dangerous,” given the severe nature of the alleged crime.
During his time with Dr. Bowerman, Pavelich stated that he was a victim of attempted poisoning by his family, friends, and neighbors. Since 2015, he had gotten back at those allegedly attempting to harm him by damaging their property.
Pavelich, said Bowerman, “has a complete lack of insight into his mental illness and would not be successful in less restrictive alternate treatment options because of his denial of his mental illness, delusions, and paranoia.”
Dr. Buffington examined Mark and found him to suffer from “mild neurocognitive disorder” due to traumatic brain injury likely related to a series of head injuries sustained over a lifetime. He also found “Post-traumatic 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.
Based in part on the psychologist’s recommendations, in October, Judge Cuzzo found Pavelich unfit to stand trial. In December, Mark was committed to the Minnesota Security Hospital in St. Peter after being found “mentally ill and dangerous.
According to court filings, Mark began taking his medications in March and began following his doctor’s orders after initially refusing to do so.
Mark will stand trial on June 22. His defense attorney has filed a motion to dismiss the two felony weapons charges based on what he claims was an illegal search of Pavelich’s house.
Mark was a high school hockey star for the Eveleth Golden Bears. He went on to play three years at the University of Minnesota Duluth, earning All- America honors, forgoing his senior year to play hockey for the 1980 U.S.A. hockey team that beat Russia in the “Miracle on Ice” game. That team then beat Finland to win the gold medal.
Mark also played hockey professionally overseas, eventually moving to Lutsen, where he met and married Cara Burmacheck. He and Cara lived a quiet life. Cara died in 2012 after falling from the couple’s second-story deck. Mark, who had been married earlier to another woman and had a child, never remarried after losing Cara.
In May 2014, Mark sold his gold medal for $262,900, splitting the money with his daughter from his first marriage so she could buy a house. At the time of the sale, Mark told Puck Daddy, “I’m doing a lot for my daughter here. I want her to get a step forward in life. That’s probably the biggest reason,” for the sale of his gold medal.
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