Prosecutors have offered plea deals to four people charged with assaulting former Coyotes hockey player Paul Bissonnette at a Scottsdale restaurant last year, recent court filings show.
The four were indicted on charges of aggravated assault and disorderly conduct related to the Nov. 24, 2024, incident.
Bissonnette was at Houston’s near McDonald Drive and Scottsdale Road when a fight began inside the restaurant between multiple men and restaurant management, and Bissonnette attempted to help management calm the disruptive group and get them to leave, authorities said after the incident. But the men turned on Bissonnette, assaulting him inside and outside the restaurant, Scottsdale police said.
Details of the plea offers made to three of the four people charged, John Carroll, Henry Mesker and Danny Bradley, were not included in court records, but a scheduling order said they had until early July to accept or continue the case.
Lawyers for a fourth man charged, Sean Daley, on May 29 filed a legal memo that asked the county prosecutor to consider a less severe penalty.
Daley’s lawyer, Lawrence Kazan, asked the prosecutor to consider a plea to simple assault and probation as sufficient punishment. Simple assault is a misdemeanor, whereas aggravated assault is a felony.
Former Phoenix Coyotes left wing Paul Bissonnette (12).
The memo offered more details about what happened that night, from Daley’s perspective and relying on surveillance camera images.
Daley and five family members were at the restaurant after a round of golf and social drinking, the memo said. It acknowledged Daley got loud and was asked to leave, which he did, until the dispute inside spilled out into a parking lot across the street, the memo said.
“It wasn’t until Daley saw Bissonnette render his cousin unconscious with a single blow … that he stepped in,” the memo reads. It said Daley “deeply regrets his involvement,” has been sober since and completed treatment recommended after a screening for alcohol abuse.
“Daley is not a criminal nor is he a troublemaker,” the memo reads. “He is a family man that drank too much and acted badly.”
The memo also acknowledged Daley had a fake military identification at the time, which the lawyer contended was a “novelty” that was immediately disclosed to police and never presented as genuine.
Kazan also asked the prosecutor to agree not to file a charge related to the military identification and dismiss the disorderly conduct charge. Kazan did not respond to a June 5 email seeking further comment.
Bissonnette played left wing for the Coyotes between 2009 and 2014.
Reach reporter Stacey Barchenger at stacey.barchenger@arizonarepublic.com or 480-416-5669.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Deals offered to men accused of assaulting ex-Coyote Paul Bissonnette