Trial set for troubled former U hockey standout

One-time Minnesota hockey phenom Nate Hagemo, whose fast track to the NHL crumbled with a career-ending injury, goes on trial Tuesday for one of three criminal incidents in a four-month stretch in Minneapolis.

In the meantime, felony drug possession charges loom over Hagemo, 22, involving the discovery of suspected heroin in his car early this year, and police say he ran a red light in another incident last November that seriously injured a bicyclist.

Barring a last-minute plea, Hagemo, of Edina, will be tried from the incident in September, when he allegedly drove his pickup truck into a parked car on Lyndale Avenue in south Minneapolis, appeared to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs and fought paramedics as they tried to put him on a gurney.

He was charged with refusing a sobriety test (a gross misdemeanor), and careless driving and disorderly conduct (misdemeanors).

According to the criminal complaint:

Police at scene said Hagemo "had bloodshot and watery eyes, and appeared unsteady in walking." Paramedics also told police that he had track marks on his arms, possibly from using needles. Medical staff at the hospital where Hagemo was taken said he had taken heroin three days ago. On advice of counsel, he refused blood and urine tests.

A search of Hagemo's vehicle uncovered a drug kit that included a rubber hose, cotton swabs and an alcohol wipe.

Hagemo played for the Gophers in 2004-05, but a shoulder injury in October 2004 cut deeply into the defenseman's playing time. The next season, he played only a couple of games because of the injury. A comeback try in 2006-07 failed before the season began, ending his playing days.

As a freshman at Holy Angels in Richfield, Hagemo helped his team win the 2002 Class AA state title. He then played two seasons in the prestigious U.S. National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor, Mich.

The Carolina Hurricanes chose Hagemo in the second round of the 2005 NHL draft.

Herion case pending

In the second of the three run-ins with the law, Hagemo drove his pickup through a red light at E. 38th Street and Portland Avenue S. in early December and hit another vehicle, according to misdemeanor charges of careless driving and driving after having his license revoked.

The City Attorney's Office said this week that the December collision will be brought up during his trial on the September incident.

In January, Hagemo was stopped near W. 51st Street and Aldrich Avenue S. after police were alerted to suspicious activity. Police found syringes and a drug kit in his vehicle. One of the syringes appeared to contain suspected heroin.

Hagemo and a 39-year-old St. Paul man were arrested.

Felony charges against Hagemo are pending, police said, until tests on the suspected heroin are complete.

Calls to Hagemo's attorney this week for comment were not returned.

On Nov. 13, Hagemo caused a collision that seriously injured a bicyclist he struck near Loring Park, police records show.

Hagemo ran a red light, hit a car and then struck Mark Jorgensen as he was on his bike in the crosswalk, the accident report said. No one else was hurt.

No drug or alcohol tests were done, police said. Also, Hagemo was not cited, police said, because they were not there to witness the crash.

Jorgensen, 54, said he was unconscious for hours after being hit and spent two months in a wheelchair recovering from a broken leg, damaged knee and a lacerated spleen.

The other driver, Donna Smith, said she spoke with Hagemo immediately after the crash and shared her cell phone with him. "He just kept saying, 'I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry.' "

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482