Artem Chigvintsev not charged over domestic violence arrest
Artem Chigvintsev won't be charged after he was arrested for a domestic violence offence last month.
Artem Chigvintsev will not be charged following his recent arrest for domestic violence.
The 42-year-old dancer was arrested by the Napa County Sheriff’s Office on suspicion of felony corporal injury to spouse or cohabitant last month but now the local district attorney has confirmed they won't be pursuing a case against the 'Dancing With the Stars' professional - whose wife Nikki Garcia filed for divorce two weeks after the incident - due to a lack of evidence.
A statement from the Napa County District Attorney's office explained the decision was made “after a thorough review of the criminal investigation and careful evaluation of the evidence presented to the DA’s Office".
District Attorney Allison Haley added in a statement: “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.
“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.”
However, although no charges are being filed against Artem - who has four-year-old son Mateo with Nikki - the case could be revisited by the DA's office "if it learns of other incidents, or otherwise learns of facts or evidence not previously known.”
TMZ previously obtained audio of a 911 call that led to Artem being arrested.
The clip featured a dispatcher saying the dancer had alleged 40-year-old Nikki had thrown her shoes at him.
The operator could be heard saying Artem's call "initially came in as requesting medical, but now he is stating he got into an argument with his wife and his wife threw shoes at RP [reporting party]. There is a child on scene. Medical en route. There's an active 415 [disturbing the peace] in the background responsible."
But the dancer subsequently stated he no longer needed medical assistance, with the dispatcher confirming: "RP is stating no medical is needed now."
Artem was booked on a charge of corporal injury to a spouse and released later in the day on $25,000 bond.
The celebrity duo met on 'Dancing With the Stars' back in 2017, but they didn't start dating until the following year, after Nikki split from John Cena.
They got engaged in January 2020 and married in Paris in August 2022.
Nikki filed for divorce two weeks after Artem's arrest, citing irreconcilable differences.
