Two ex-NHL players were arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor battery and vandalism following an incident at a Laguna Beach Jack in the Box restaurant, reports the Laguna Beach Coastline Pilot.
Former Toronto Maple Leafs forward Rich Costello and former Montreal Canadiens forward Jean-Francois Jomphe allegedly got into an altercation with a carload of area youth in the fast-food outlet’s drive-thru around 1 a.m. on Dec. 21.
According to the report — recounted to the newspaper by Laguna Beach Police Capt. Jason Kravetz — Costello, 49, and Jomphe, 39, butted in line at the drive-thru ahead of a VW Jetta full of kids.
“One of the kids (in the Jetta) did a hand gesture like, ‘Hey, what’s up’ and Jomphe got angry, got out of the cab and went to the guy,” Kravetz told the Coastline Pilot. “Costello went to restrain him, but he’s pretty upset and shatters the back window.”
The face of a 20-year-old man in the back seat was reportedly cut by shards of glass. The altercation then escalated when a 44-year-old man tried to defend the kids and get the ex-players back into their vehicle.
Costello allegedly threw a punch at the good Samaritan but missed when the man ducked. Costello then tried to kick the man.
Alcohol is believed to have played a factor in the incident.
Costello, a second-round pick of the Philadelphia Flyers in 1981, played just 12 career games with Toronto from 1984 to 1986. The American centreman scored four points in the league.
Jomphe, a Quebec native, scored 39 points in a four-season NHL career spent with the Canadiens, Anaheim Mighty Ducks and Phoenix Coyotes in the mid-’90s.
