Brothers accused in assaults turn themselves in to police
Central Avenue beating caught on video, spread via social media
Two brothers accused of a violent assault that was captured on video have turned themselves in to police and made their first appearances in Saskatoon provincial court.
City police say Darren Hinds, 28, and Darcy Hinds, 25, both former University of Saskatchewan Huskies football players, are responsible for a violent beating on Central Avenue that was captured on video last month.
The two victims, ages 32 and 43, suffered serious but non-lifethreatening injuries.
The brothers each face two charges of aggravated assault, Saskatoon police said last week.
In addition, Darren Hinds faces a charge of uttering death threats.
Brian Pfefferle, a Saskatoon criminal defence lawyer representing the brothers, said the pair had recently been in Alberta but turned themselves in to Saskatoon police on Monday at about 6:30 a.m. Pfefferle said his clients turned themselves in voluntarily and were not running or hiding from police.
“Neither accused is trying to run from this situation,” he said outside provincial court.
Despite what was captured on video, a lot remains unknown about what happened that night, he said.
“Anybody that has seen bar fights break out or fights like this, you’d be hard pressed to find one that happened out of nowhere,” Pfefferle said.
He intends to ask the court to let the Hinds brothers out on bail, he said. After that, he expects them to return to their home in Alberta, after which they would travel to Saskatchewan for any further court dates.
He said the brothers do not have criminal records.
The video, posted a week after the beating and widely shared online and on social media sites, shows two large men punching and kicking two people on the corner near Dino’s Bar and Grill and Thomas the Cook Family Restaurant.
Both brothers used to play for the U of S Huskies. Darren played from 2005 to 2011 and reached two Vanier Cups. Darcy was on the Huskies team from 2007 to 2011.