Doughty’s attorney talks about investigation

Given that we’re near the close of the day, it’s likely that there will not be any resolution today to the Drew Doughty case. Doughty’s attorney, Craig Renetzky, said he expects a decision to be made within the next 48 hours. Doughty has been accused of sexual assault by a 25-year-old woman, but no charges have been filed. Renetzky graciously returned a phone call today and talked about some of the details of the case, starting with the timeline.

RENETZKY: “Mr. Doughty was contacted by the Hermosa Beach Police Department a number of months ago, regarding allegations. He immediately contacted my law offices, Craig Renetzky, and asked for some guidance. I met with him, and we began to cooperate with the Hermosa Beach Police Department in their investigation, because we believed that their investigation would lead to his being cleared of any charges in this case. So, this has been going on throughout the playoffs, but based on our information, we thought it would be best to cooperate. That’s why we anticipate that the case is going to be rejected. We don’t believe that there are going to be any charges. Drew Doughty has maintained his innocence throughout this.”

Question: It’s been said that the alleged incident took place on March 1. We’re now at June 20. Why so long? Would that be considered normal?

RENETZKY: “It’s just the Hermosa Beach Police Department being incredibly thorough. They’re interviewing any witnesses. They’re crossing every T and dotting every I. They’re doing an amazing job of making sure that their investigation is complete, that they’re not leaving any holes in it. That’s why there has been no rush to judgment in their case.”

Question: To the extent that you can, publicly, can you share Drew’s side of the story?

RENETZKY: “I’ve been in contact with Drew, on a regular basis, throughout the entire investigation. He’s always maintained his innocence. There was no sexual assault in this case. He wanted to get it put behind him, but we understood that the police department needed to be thorough. We have cooperated with them in that matter, and that’s why we so strongly believe that the D.A. will announce that there will be no charges filed.”

Question: According to one report, Doughty told police that it was a consensual incident. Is that something you can confirm?

RENETZKY: “I can’t comment on that, especially until after the investigation is concluded.”

Question: Is it fair to say that you’re expecting, from your end, a positive resolution?

RENETZKY: “We’ve been anxious for a resolution for a number of weeks now, but Hermosa is not going to rush it. They want to be thorough and that is, I think, in everybody’s best interests.”

Question: We now know that Drew has been dealing with this throughout the playoffs. From your conversations with him, how has he handled it?

RENETZKY: “He’s dealt with it very well. I think he’s had a great deal of faith in myself. He knows that I handled the case involving Mark Hardy, so he knew that my advice was good, and on point. I was watching the Stanley Cup playoffs with amazement, at how well he was doing. I don’t know if I could have done that. It obviously weighs on his mind, but I think that because, in the back of his mind, he knows that he’s innocent, he didn’t let it impact his play. If it did, I’d hate to see how amazing he would be without this allegation.”

Question: A lot of people have been curious about the timing, given the length of the investigation and the playoffs, that sort of thing…

RENETZKY: “I can tell you that this had nothing to do with the Stanley Cup playoffs. It had everything to do with a thorough investigation. Mr. Doughty contacted me well before this, and at no point did he ever request that the matter be delayed, to allow the playoffs to conclude.”