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Brother Of Rangers LW Derek Boogaard Charged In Overdose Death

NEW YORK (WFAN/AP) — The family of former Rangers left winger Derek Boogaard is enduring another round of heartache.

Derek's brother was charged Friday with providing the prescription painkiller that contributed to the NHL player's overdose death in May.

A complaint filed in Hennepin County District Court says 24-year-old Aaron Boogaard gave his brother an Oxycodone pill the day of his death. Derek Boogaard, 28, was found dead in his apartment May 13 of what authorities later ruled was a toxic mix of alcohol and Oxycodone.

The younger Boogaard was charged with unlawful sale of a controlled substance, a felony. A second count, interference with the scene of a death, accuses Aaron Boogaard of misleading the coroner or concealing evidence.

An attorney for Boogaard didn't immediately return a call for comment.

Derek Boogaard, who became a fan favorite for the Minnesota Wild before joining the Rangers, had struggled with addiction, his family said after his death.

The brothers' parents, Len and Joanne Boogaard of Regina, Saskatchewan, did not respond to messages from The Associated Press. The family issued a statement calling the charges unfortunate and painful. Len Boogaard told the New York Times that Aaron Boogaard was trying to control what his brother was taking.

"We lost Derek, and Aaron Nicholas was the one that found Derek," Len Boogaard told the paper. "So of course he's kicking himself. He was doing what he was doing because he was regulating what Derek was taking. He didn't want what actually has happened to Derek to happen."

The criminal complaint says Aaron Boogaard told police he gave his brother a single Oxycodone pill before going out to several clubs May 12. Aaron Boogaard said he had been holding Oxycontin and Percocet pills for his brother.

Aaron Boogaard said his brother had just been released from chemical dependency treatment the day before and that he knew when he gave him the pill he was not in pain, according to the complaint.

"The Defendant said that it appeared D.L.B. was celebrating and intended to go on a 'binger,'" the complaint said.

Shawn Neudauer, a spokesman with Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Minnesota, said the agency has placed a detainer on Aaron Boogaard, meaning that immigration officials planned to take him into custody when he is released from the local jail.

Aaron Boogaard was drafted by the Wild in 2004 but never played with them. He has bounced around various lower-level teams and has not appeared in the NHL.

Derek Boogaard, known as "The Boogeyman," was popular players for his rough-and-tumble approach to the game. What he lacked in skill and goal-scoring capability he more than made up for with his fists. He was one of the most feared fighters in the game during his six-year NHL career, racking up 589 penalty minutes in 277 career games. He left the Wild for a four-year deal with the Rangers last July and scored one goal in 22 games before his season was ended by a concussion five months before his death.

Boogaard's family donated his brain to the Boston University School of Medicine, which planned to examine it as part of a broader study of head trauma in athletes for signs of a degenerative disease often found in athletes who sustain repeated hits to the head.

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(TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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