Aroldis Chapman will not face charges from domestic dispute

New York Yankees pitcher Aroldis Chapman will not face criminal charges stemming from a domestic dispute at his home near Miami in October, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

According to a police report filed at the time, Chapman is alleged to have choked his girlfriend and to have fired eight gunshots into his garage. No arrests were made at the time of the incident due to conflicting stories. 

Those inconsistencies continued in recent interviews, according to the Sun Sentinel.

Police did not make any arrests at the time because of inconsistencies in what they were told about what happened. Police did not notice any marks around Barnea’s neck, and she later told them she heard one shot, didn’t know who fired it, and didn’t want to prosecute. Last week she told prosecutors she did not remember saying he had hit her. She also said he pushed her because she got too close while yelling at him.

The Broward State Attorney’s Office is expected to release a statement on its decision not to charge Chapman on Thursday. Chapman’s lawyer, Paul Molle, had this to say about the outcome:

“We are all pleased that the Davie Police Department and the Office of the State Attorney took the time to fully investigate the matter and have concluded that charges were not warranted.”

When the story broke, Chapman was set to headline a blockbuster trade that would have sent him to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers backed off after hearing about the incident, and Chapman was sent to the Yankees a few weeks later. Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner came to Chapman’s defense Wednesday, saying the closer should be “innocent until proven otherwise.”

While Chapman has avoided criminal charges, he still could face punishment from Major League Baseball. Chapman is subject to the league’s new domestic violence policy, which went into effect last season. New commissioner Rob Manfred has yet to take action against any player under the new policy, so the severity of a possible punishment is not known at this time. Many expected Chapman to receive a suspension from the league prior to this development.

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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik