Chael Sonnen is not in the clear yet when it comes to his hotel room altercation with 5 individuals. TMZ was the first to break the news that the MMA veteran has been charged 11 times including for one felony over the Las Vegas incident.
Court records reveal prosecutors filed charges last week. The biggest charge is the felony battery by strangulation, the other 10 charges are misdemeanor battery charges.
Battery by strangulation in non-domestic situations is a Category C felony under Nevada law. The potential penalties include one to five years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. It’s likely Sonnen will plead out the case.
Documents paint a vivid picture. It is the view of the officials that Sonnen roughed up 6 people including one woman on the night of December 18th.
These reports play a crucial role in ESPN opting to suspend Sonnen from their programming. Sonnen is employed by ESPN as an MMA analyst. ESPN commented on the charges saying: “Chael will not appear on ESPN as we explore the details of these serious charges.”
Sonnen is due to appear in court on April 27th. He did not comment on the latest development. The criminal complaint obtained by ESPN states Sonnen allegedly used “force of violence upon” a woman “by punching/striking” and pushing her.
According to the complaint, allegedly punched the first man, punching and kicking a second man, punching a third man in the face, punching and kneeing a fourth man and striking a fifth man with his elbow.
None of the documents are publicly available as of right now. A public records request from ESPN was denied by police Wednesday because the case is considered an open and active investigation.