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Lawyer: Danton lied to 'smitten' girl
EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. (AP) - Katie Wolfmeyer is a ``young girl smitten with a hockey player who lied to her,'' her lawyer told a federal magistrate Monday.
Wolfmeyer, a 19-year-old nursing student at St. Louis Community College, sobbed throughout her initial court appearance on charges that she tried to help St. Louis Blues forward Mike Danton hire a hit man to kill an acquaintance of Danton's.
U.S. Magistrate Clifford Proud set a preliminary hearing for April 30. Wolfmeyer was freed on $100,000 US bail to the custody of her parents and ordered to wear an electronic monitor.
More than two dozen of Wolfmeyer's relatives and classmates packed the courtroom. Her father silently mouthed words of encouragement. Her mother held out her arm toward her daughter in quiet support as Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Clark emphasized the seriousness of the charges.
``This is not a theft, this is not a drug case,'' Clark said. ``This was a crime of violence.''
Danton, a native of Brampton, Ont., remains jailed in California, awaiting extradition. No hearing date for him has been set.
He was arrested Friday in San Jose, Calif., one day after the San Jose Sharks beat the Blues 3-1 to eliminate St. Louis from the NHL playoffs.
Danton's lawyer in St. Louis did not immediately return a phone call Monday.
Clark said Wolfmeyer confessed to the crime. Her lawyer, Donald Groshong, said she did not.
The FBI alleged Danton tried to hire a hit man for $10,000 to murder an acquaintance at the apartment the men shared. The complaint alleged the men argued Tuesday over Danton's ``promiscuity and use of alcohol.'' Danton feared the acquaintance would talk to Blues management and ruin Danton's career, the FBI said.
Wolfmeyer was accused of conspiring to arrange the plot by passing Danton's call to another man, described in the complaint as a ``co-operating witness'' for the FBI.
Groshong said Wolfmeyer knew she was speaking to a police officer and was simply laying out the facts. Clark dismissed that defence, saying the ``co-operating witness'' was not a police officer. In fact, Clark said Wolfmeyer showed the man where Danton lived.
When that witness and Danton spoke, Danton allegedly hatched a plot in which the slaying would occur at the apartment and be made to look like a burglary gone awry.
Groshong called Wolfmeyer ``a nice young girl who is the real victim in this case. She was lied to by everybody.'' He would not elaborate.
Danton's agent said the player is struggling, too.
``Mike is scared,'' agent Dave Frost said in a telephone interview. ``He's still in a state where he doesn't actually understand what's happened. He's in desperate, desperate need of counselling, immediately.''
Frost said Danton's problems are unrelated to drugs or alcohol.
Wolfmeyer's uncle, John Wolfmeyer, said the family believes she met Danton while working at the St. Louis Mills mall, where the Blues practise. It was one of three jobs Katie Wolfmeyer held while studying nursing at St. Louis Community College, where she played volleyball and lacrosse, her uncle said.
``She's an all-American type of girl,'' John Wolfmeyer said. ``Everyone's in her corner. Nobody is sleeping or eating. This is just tearing the family apart.''
Danton has had a troubled NHL career, but seemed to be finding himself with the Blues.
He came to the Blues in a June trade from the New Jersey Devils, where he had been twice suspended for disciplinary reasons. He sat out all of the 2001-02 season and played in just 17 games in 2002-03.
This season, Danton, serving in the role of a fourth-line agitator, had seven goals, 12 points and 141 penalty minutes - tied for most on the team.
Blues coach Mike Kitchen said Danton showed no signs of distraction during the playoffs. Though his ice time was limited, Kitchen said Danton earned the respect of his St. Louis teammates.
``He played very well for us,'' Kitchen said. ``He would go to battle for anyone on the ice. That's the way Mike is.''
Wolfmeyer, a 19-year-old nursing student at St. Louis Community College, sobbed throughout her initial court appearance on charges that she tried to help St. Louis Blues forward Mike Danton hire a hit man to kill an acquaintance of Danton's.
U.S. Magistrate Clifford Proud set a preliminary hearing for April 30. Wolfmeyer was freed on $100,000 US bail to the custody of her parents and ordered to wear an electronic monitor.
More than two dozen of Wolfmeyer's relatives and classmates packed the courtroom. Her father silently mouthed words of encouragement. Her mother held out her arm toward her daughter in quiet support as Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Clark emphasized the seriousness of the charges.
``This is not a theft, this is not a drug case,'' Clark said. ``This was a crime of violence.''
Danton, a native of Brampton, Ont., remains jailed in California, awaiting extradition. No hearing date for him has been set.
He was arrested Friday in San Jose, Calif., one day after the San Jose Sharks beat the Blues 3-1 to eliminate St. Louis from the NHL playoffs.
Danton's lawyer in St. Louis did not immediately return a phone call Monday.
Clark said Wolfmeyer confessed to the crime. Her lawyer, Donald Groshong, said she did not.
The FBI alleged Danton tried to hire a hit man for $10,000 to murder an acquaintance at the apartment the men shared. The complaint alleged the men argued Tuesday over Danton's ``promiscuity and use of alcohol.'' Danton feared the acquaintance would talk to Blues management and ruin Danton's career, the FBI said.
Wolfmeyer was accused of conspiring to arrange the plot by passing Danton's call to another man, described in the complaint as a ``co-operating witness'' for the FBI.
Groshong said Wolfmeyer knew she was speaking to a police officer and was simply laying out the facts. Clark dismissed that defence, saying the ``co-operating witness'' was not a police officer. In fact, Clark said Wolfmeyer showed the man where Danton lived.
When that witness and Danton spoke, Danton allegedly hatched a plot in which the slaying would occur at the apartment and be made to look like a burglary gone awry.
Groshong called Wolfmeyer ``a nice young girl who is the real victim in this case. She was lied to by everybody.'' He would not elaborate.
Danton's agent said the player is struggling, too.
``Mike is scared,'' agent Dave Frost said in a telephone interview. ``He's still in a state where he doesn't actually understand what's happened. He's in desperate, desperate need of counselling, immediately.''
Frost said Danton's problems are unrelated to drugs or alcohol.
Wolfmeyer's uncle, John Wolfmeyer, said the family believes she met Danton while working at the St. Louis Mills mall, where the Blues practise. It was one of three jobs Katie Wolfmeyer held while studying nursing at St. Louis Community College, where she played volleyball and lacrosse, her uncle said.
``She's an all-American type of girl,'' John Wolfmeyer said. ``Everyone's in her corner. Nobody is sleeping or eating. This is just tearing the family apart.''
Danton has had a troubled NHL career, but seemed to be finding himself with the Blues.
He came to the Blues in a June trade from the New Jersey Devils, where he had been twice suspended for disciplinary reasons. He sat out all of the 2001-02 season and played in just 17 games in 2002-03.
This season, Danton, serving in the role of a fourth-line agitator, had seven goals, 12 points and 141 penalty minutes - tied for most on the team.
Blues coach Mike Kitchen said Danton showed no signs of distraction during the playoffs. Though his ice time was limited, Kitchen said Danton earned the respect of his St. Louis teammates.
``He played very well for us,'' Kitchen said. ``He would go to battle for anyone on the ice. That's the way Mike is.''
_STLfan_in_DFW@Apr 19 2004, 07:11 PM
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