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Derek Boogaard’s brother Aaron arrested on prescription fraud and possession charge

Aaron Boogaard, Len Boogaard, Krysten Boogaard

Aaron Boogaard, left, breaks down while speaking about his brother Derek Boogaard during a public memorial service at the Xcel Energy Center, Sunday, May 15, 2011, in St. Paul, Minn., for Derek who was found dead in his Minneapolis apartment Friday. Boogaard’s sister Krysten is at right and father Len hugs Aaron. (AP Photo/The Star Tribune, Renee Jones Schneider)

AP

After the sudden and saddening death of NHL enforcer Derek Boogaard back in May, the last thing the Boogaard family was hoping for was more bad news.

As it turned out, Derek’s death was due to a toxic mix of alcohol and oxycodone and after a history dealing with substance abuse it was a reminder of how rough life can be for those having problems fighting addiction. It also turns out that Derek may not have been alone in dealing with such problems as his brother Aaron was arrested Wednesday night in Minneapolis on charges of prescription fraud and possession of prescription pills.

Making the case even harder to deal with for the Boogaard family is when the crime is dated to have occurred.

Aaron Boogaard, a Canadian national from Regina, Saskatchewan, is being held at the Hennepin County jail on the drug arrest and on a federal immigration hold, according to the jail’s website. The police record listing Aaron Boogaard’s arrest says that the date and time of his alleged crime is May 13, the same day that family members found Derek Boogaard, 28, dead in his Warehouse District apartment. The incident was listed as “dead on arrival.”

No comment from Minneapolis police was immediately available. The Hennepin County Attorney’s office has until noon Friday to charge him with a crime.


It’s incredibly difficult to describe how hard this has to be for the rest of the family to cope with this. Given the timing of when Aaron Boogaard was alleged to have committed the crime, it makes you worry about how things played out with Derek. Obviously with it dating back to when Derek was found dead in his apartment, it’s easy to make that jump to conclusions that the two incidents may be connected.

For now we hope that it’s just a tragic coincidence and that there are no further problems ahead for Aaron and the rest of the Boogaard family. Losing a family member in such a tragic and ultimately needless way is painful beyond belief and should Aaron be dealing with similar demons we can only hope he’s learning to cope better through all this tragedy and misfortune.

Update: At least there’s a silver lining in this very sad story. When reached for comment, the family said the arrest has “nothing to do with his brother Derek Boogaard’s death.”