Nikki Garcia’s Husband Won’t Be Charged In Domestic Violence Arrest

Nikki Garcia’s husband Artem Chigvintsev has avoided criminal charges in relation to his arrest on suspicion of domestic violence. As reported last month, the Dancing With the Stars alumnus was arrested following an incident in Napa Valley on the charge of felony domestic battery. The Napa Valley DA’s office issued a statement on Tuesday that Chigvintsev will not be charged after a review of the investigation.

The identity of Chigvintsev’s alleged victim was never confirmed. Garcia, who issued a statement asking for privacy for her and her family after the event, reportedly filed for divorce earlier this month.

The full statement from the District Attorney’s Office reads:

Napa County DA Declines to File Criminal Charges Against Artem Chigvintsev
Napa County District Attorney Allison Haley announced today that her office has declined to file criminal charges against Artem Chigvintsev, age 42, in connection with his arrest on suspicion of felony domestic violence. The decision to not file charges against Mr. Chigvintsev was made after a thorough review of the criminal investigation and careful evaluation of the evidence presented to the DA’s Office.

“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,” Napa County District Attorney Allison Haley said. “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.”

Domestic violence can either be filed as a felony or a misdemeanor and has a statute of limitations of three years or one year, respectively. At any time within the statute of limitations, the Napa County District Attorney’s Office may revisit the case if it learns of other incidents, or otherwise learns of facts or evidence not previously known.

The Napa County District Attorney’s Victim Services Division works closely with victims of domestic violence and other crimes and links them to available resources whether charges are filed or not DA Haley said.

The Napa County District Attorney’s Office does not typically issue press releases when it declines to file charges against any given individual; however, did so for this case due to the intense media interest it has received since Mr. Chigvintsev’s arrest.

The Napa County District Attorney’s Office will not be releasing any further information about this case, including the identity of the alleged victim, and any questions pertaining to this case may be directed to Public Affairs and Media Officer Carlos Villatoro.