Posted on 9/25/124 by Colin Vassallo
The Napa County District Attorney’s Office issued a press
release declining to file criminal charges against Artem
Chigvintsev in connection with his arrest on suspicion of
felony domestic violence against his wife and WWE Hall of
Famer Nikki Garcia.
“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.”
The press release stated that the decision was only taken
after a thorough review of the criminal investigation and
careful evaluation of the evidence presented to the DA’s
Office.
The Napa County District Attorney’s Office does not
typically issue press releases when it declines to file
charges against any given individual but did so for this
case due to the intense media interest it has received since
Chigvintsev’s arrest.
Nikki Garcia has since filed for divorce.