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2 misdemeanor counts dropped, 4 remain against Chael Sonnen, in alleged hotel fight case
Las Vegas Justice Pro Tem Craig Friedberg dismissed two misdemeanor battery counts against former professional mixed martial artist Chael Sonnen. The charges stemmed from an alleged hotel fight that took place in December 2021. Sonnen was not arrested the night of the alleged attack.
Sonnen, who was not in court on Wednesday, was charged with attacking multiple people at a Four Seasons hotel, including Dr. Christopher Stellpflug and Julie Stellpflug. The Stellpflugs made a civilian complaint about the attack and the Metropolitan Police Department issued misdemeanor battery citations to Sonnen in January.
The two dismissed counts accused Sonnen of attacking the Stellpflugs of San Luis Obispo, California, who have claimed Sonnen repeatedly punched them without provocation on Dec. 18 in the hotel hallway.
On March 14, prosecutors charged Sonnen with a felony count of battery by strangulation and 10 misdemeanor counts of battery, but the felony charge was dropped and the misdemeanor counts reduced to six after prosecutors filed an amended criminal complaint on March 29.
The misdemeanor battery charges against Sonner were dismissed without prejudice in a Las Vegas court earlier this year, meaning the case could be opened at a later date.
According to a report from the Las Vegas Review Journal, “Defense attorney Dayvid Figler filed a motion to dismiss all charges against Sonnen after prosecutors were unable to obtain statements the Stellpflugs gave to a California TV station. Figler argued that the Stellpflugs made comments to the media that could be used as exculpatory evidence, including that Sonnen was ‘uttering gibberish’ during the encounter.
Figler wrote in the motion that Christopher Stellpflug “has given some statements which have been broadcast concerning Mr. Sonnen’s mental state … and also claimed injuries and motivations unsupported by other evidence.”
“It is clear that if Mr. Sonnen could not form the requisite intent to commit a willful and unlawful battery that he would be exonerated of all charges,” Figler wrote.
The lawsuit states that Sonnen knocked a drink out of Christopher Stellpflug’s hand “without provocation,” and then began punching Christopher Stellpflug in the head multiple times. Sonnen is also accused of choking Christopher Stellpflug, throwing Julie Stellpflug against a light fixture and punching her in the face, according to an arrest warrant.
According to the lawsuit, another man came out of his room and tried to stop Sonnen, who began elbowing the man. A different man told police he called security after Sonnen had punched him in the face, just before the Stellpflugs arrived in the hallway.
Sonnen also is accused of striking one security guard in the nose with his knee and kicking another in the chest before he was detained by more employees.
In a phone interview Wednesday morning, the Stellpflugs told the Las Vegas Review Journal they were disappointed and “disgusted” by the dropped charges.
“We just want justice,” Julie Stellpflug said. “We did not deserve what happened to us.”
