Chael Sonnen is headed to trial in his criminal case stemming from an alleged assault at a Las Vegas hotel one year ago.
Sonnen’s trial will begin April 5 after he rejected a plea deal offered by prosecutors on four misdemeanor battery charges he currently faces after several alleged victims of the attack pressed charges.
“Sometimes, the parties get so close, and sometimes it just doesn’t make it all the way,” attorney Dayvid Figler told judge Joe Bonaventure in Las Vegas Township Justice Court during a status check hearing on Wednesday.
A state procuror stated that Sonnen’s plea deals have been “retracted .”
“.
Sonnen has been accused of attacking several persons at Four Seasons Hotel Las Vegas in December 2021. A couple initially attached to the criminal case, Julie and Christopher Stellpflug, say Sonnen struck both of them and put Christopher Stellpflug in a chokehold after slapping a drink out of his hand as he walked down a hotel hallway. They allege Sonnen then attacked several security guards that came to their aid.
The couple claims Sonnen was drunk and belligerent at the time of the assault. They are now suing Sonnen in civil court after they were dropped from the criminal case when prosecutors didn’t find enough evidence to support a felony battery charge. Also suing Sonnen in court is a man who said he was a maintenance man who said he was punched in the jaw unprovoked, as MMA Fighting previously reported. The man claimed a guest of Sonnen’s initiated the attack.
Sonnen did not comment publicly on the case. Ann E. Zimmerman will most likely hear it when it comes to trial. The three-time UFC title challenger continues to make appearances on his YouTube channel; a commentating job with ESPN was put on hold when his case surfaced.
Source: https://www.mmafighting.com/2022/12/21/23520833/chael-sonnen-battery-trial-set-for-april-5-after-plea-deal-rejected?rand=96749
