Yahoo News “DWTS ”Alum Artem Chigvintsev Will Not Face Criminal Charges After His Arrest on Suspicion of Domestic Violence
On Aug. 29, Chigvintsev was arrested and booked in Napa Valley, Calif., on a charge of corporal injury to spouse — two days after he and his wife Nikki Garcia celebrated their second wedding anniversary
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Artem ChigvintsevArtem Chigvintsev will not be prosecuted after his arrest on suspicion of domestic violence.
On Tuesday, Sept. 24, Napa County District Attorney Allison Haley announced that her office came to the decision to decline to file criminal charges against the Dancing with the Stars alum, 42, after his arrest in August.
According to the press release, Haley stated that the decision was made after a "thorough review of the criminal investigation" and evidence presented in the case.
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Artem Chigvintsev“While we take every arrest seriously and stand firmly against domestic violence, we have an ethical obligation to only file charges when supported by the evidence,” she wrote. “We are required to prove any and every criminal charge ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ which is the highest standard in the American criminal justice system. If the available evidence doesn’t rise to this level of proof, then we cannot ethically file charges.”
Though the DA's office will not be pursuing criminal charges against Chigvintsev, Haley wrote that they may revisit the case if they learn of other incidents, facts or evidence that has not been previously known.
PEOPLE has reached out to Chigvintsev's rep for comment.
On Aug. 29, Chigvintsev was arrested and booked in Napa Valley, California, on a charge of corporal injury to spouse just before 10 a.m., two days after he and his wife Nikki Garcia celebrated their second wedding anniversary. The Russian-born dancer was released on $25,000 bond that same day.
While it was never explicitly confirmed that Garcia was the spouse in question, Chigvintsev alleged in a 9-1-1 call made the same day of his arrest that the Total Divas alum threw shoes at him and requested medical assistance.
At the time, a rep for Garcia told PEOPLE, "This is a private matter and Nikki asks for privacy for her and her family at this time."
Related: Nikki Bella and Artem Chigvintsev's Relationship Timeline
Nikki Bella/Instagram
Nikki Bella, Artem Chigvintsev and their son Matteo.Two weeks after his arrest, Garcia filed for divorce after nearly two years of marriage on Sept. 11.
In her divorce petition reviewed by PEOPLE, the WWE alum requested legal and physical custody of their son and only child Matteo. The documents requested that Chigvintsev be allowed child visitation rights.
The television personality, 40, cited "irreconcilable differences" as grounds for divorce from the professional dancer. Garcia also requested the court terminate spousal support for both parties. In response to her filing, Chigvintsev stated he was seeking joint legal and physical custody of their son, as well as spousal support and attorney's fees and costs.
Garcia and Chigvintsev met in 2017 when they were paired together on season 25 of Dancing with the Stars, where they were eliminated sixth. They welcomed Matteo in July 2020. Per the court documents, they wed in January 2023.
"It’s something I’ve dreamed of my whole life,” she told PEOPLE at the time. “I can’t imagine life without being a mom and experiencing the miracle of life and raising a child. I’m just so family-oriented that I couldn’t imagine not having that family life.”
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If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
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