Dancer Artem Chigvintsev , who appeared on multiple seasons of “Dancing with the Stars,” said he is grateful for the people who stood by him in recent weeks, after Napa County prosecutors announced Tuesday that they will not file domestic violence charges against him. Chigvintsev, 42, was arrested on Aug. 29 on suspicion of felony domestic violence.
The alleged victim was not named at the time, but the arrest occurred the same day reportedly listed as Chigvintsev’s date of separation from his wife, Nikki Garcia, who filed for divorce a week later. After a review of the criminal investigation and evaluation of the evidence, the Napa County District Attorney’s Office said they will not file formal charges against 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,” Allison Haley, the county district attorney, said in the announcement.
The statement said the office’s Victim Services Division continues to work with survivors of domestic violence crimes and other crimes to provide resources, whether or not formal charges are filed. Chigvintsev’s attorney, Ilona Antonyan, told People that her client was not the primary aggressor in the Aug. 29 incident, which she said took place while the couple’s 4-year-old son, Matteo, was present.
“He was protecting himself and Matteo,” Antonyan told People. A representative for Garcia did not immedi.