2 Darien HS Football Players Arrested On Assault Charges: PD

(Editor's note: one person's name has been removed from this article as they provided Patch paperwork showing their case had been dismissed.)

This story was updated at 9:58 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2017, to add comments from Stamford attorney Mark Sherman, who represents one of the suspects.

NEW CANAAN, CT — Two Darien High School football players, and a third suspect, surrendered to New Canaan police on Wednesday night in connection with their alleged roles in a Nov. 6 assault on a New Canaan teen, according to New Canaan police.

Arrested on warrants was Brian Minicus, also 18, of Haskell Lane; and a 17-year-old male juvenile, whose identity was not disclosed by police due to his age. The identity of the 17-year-old victim also was not released.

"The warrants stem from an assault that occurred in New Canaan at a residence on Old Kings Highway on 11/6/17 at approximately [11:15 p.m.]," wrote New Canaan police in a statement. According to the juvenile victim of the assault, he was at a residence on Old Kings Highway when Minicus and a 17 year old male juvenile offender from Darien showed up at the residence.

"It was determined through the investigation that Minicus and the 17 year old male juvenile offender showed up at the residence and grabbed the juvenile victim and Minicus placed him in a headlock while the 17 year old juvenile offender held him down. It was at that time that Minicus began punching the juvenile victim in the head and face. The assault was stopped by a friend of the juvenile victim who was able to pull Minicus off of the juvenile and free him from the juvenile offender who was holding him down."

Wednesday's arrests occurred on the eve of the 24th annual Turkey Bowl football game between New Canaan and Darien high schools, but the status of those players for the game was not immediately known. Minicus is a starter on the #1-ranked Darien squad.

In a statement, Darien Schools Superintendent Dan Brenner told the New Canaan Advertiser that the district and Board of Education would not comment on the specific incident but are taking it seriously.

Minicus was charged with third-degree assault and second-degree unlawful restraint; and the 17-year-old was charged with conspiracy to commit third-degree assault and second-degree restraint.

Mark Sherman, the Stamford criminal defense lawyer representing the alleged juvenile offender, denied his client was directly involved in the fight.

"My client was a bystander, and that's according to multiple eyewitness accounts," said Sherman in a statement, adding that the boys proactively mediated the dispute the next morning.

"While this could have been handled better, the boys did their best--they shook hands that night and even regrouped the next morning to peacefully resolve the conflict. These boys have all played football together for years and it has been a friendly rivalry."

Minicus was released after posting $500 bond each and was scheduled to appear in Norwalk Superior Court on Dec. 5. The 17-year-old offender was released to his parents and is scheduled to appear in Juvenile Court in Bridgeport at a later date.

Photo: Brian Minicus. Photo credit: New Canaan Police Department