Courtesy of Amber Monson/Instagram; Allen Berezovsky / Contributor
Jeremy Renner’s Ex-Con Girlfriend Amber Monson’s Criminal History: Inside Her Lawless Past
Since August 2023, actor Jeremy Renner has been romantically linked to a Nevada-based ex-con named Amber Monson, leaving many to wonder about Monson’s criminal history.
Does Amber Monson Have an Arrest Record?
Monson was arrested on April 9, 2021, after she damaged eight cars, including police vehicles, during a high-speed chase in a stolen car. She was charged with two felonies — possessing a stolen vehicle and damaging a motor vehicle — and a misdemeanor for resisting arrest, according to court documents reviewed by In Touch.
She and her ex-husband, Joseph, also have a history of civil complaints. The former couple were issued a complaint of $2,500 or under from a debt collection agency in 2017, and another between $2,500.01 and $5,000 in 2020. She was evicted from her apartment in Reno, Nevada, in February 2018 after not paying rent.
Has Amber Monson Ever Been to Jail?
Monson pleaded guilty to attempting to possess, receive or transfer a stolen vehicle, according to a court document dated November 29, 2023, and reviewed by In Touch. For her crime, documents noted, Monson would serve a minimum of 19 months and a maximum of 48 months in the Nevada Department of Corrections. However, her prison sentence was later suspended, and Monson was instead “placed on probation for an indeterminate period of time not to succeed 24 months.”
On December 13, 2023, Monson was once again arrested after violating the terms of her parole and failing to show up to work. She was released shortly after.
When Did Amber Monson and Jeremy Renner Begin Dating?
Monson and Jeremy, who both currently live in Nevada, met at a Reno club in August 2023. Though their relationship was “purely sexual” in the beginning, according to Monson’s brother Jason Nelms in a January 9, 2024, interview with The Daily Mail, the two developed a deeper bond in the following months, often video chatting when they were apart.
However, things went downhill for Monson and Jeremy after the Mayor of Kingstown actor invited his girlfriend and her family to his Lake Tahoe mansion in November 2023. When Monson, joined by her mother and a few of her friends, showed up to the $2.6 million estate, they reportedly couldn’t figure out how to enter.
According to Jason, an “intoxicated” Jeremy allegedly called Monson’s family “f–king idiots” over the phone as he tried to give them directions. When they finally arrived inside, The Hurt Locker actor “refused to come out to meet them at the entrance,” per The Daily Mail. Monson and her family eventually cut their visit short after an “uncomfortable” encounter with Jeremy, who Jason described as being an “a–hole” and a “d–k.”
Monson’s younger brother, Dillon Overholt, told The Daily Mail his family was “livid” at the “super rude” way the Avengers actor treated them.
Amber Monson Releases Statement on Her Criminal History
When reached by In Touch for comment, Monson released the following statement.
“To many this is just a number, for me it is the percentage of us that survive human trafficking. Fifty percent is the number of victims that are under the age of 16. Nevada has the second highest rate for human trafficking in our country. For one to think this can’t happen to you, or your daughter, a sister, or a friend would be naïve. I, too, was once ignorant of these very real statistics, until I survived it myself, which recently came to light in a very unfortunate way.”
“I was a survivor of domestic violence that forced me to homelessness, as living in my car was safer than the alternative, or so I thought. Homelessness left me vulnerable to worse, deleterious dangers. Dangerous criminals prey upon women and girls suffering in poverty, and it’s easy to be tricked into thinking someone is there to help you. It can take days, even weeks, to get into a women’s shelter, and by that time the women and children are out in the cold and in danger. We have a serious shortage of shelters for those in emergency criteria. I had to experience this firsthand and when I was taken and came across a child that was also taken I did everything in my power to escape and get that child out of harms way.”
“Three years ago, trafficking was fairly unheard of on a public scale, I had no idea about it. I came from a prominent and affluent family, whom I lost mostly during COVID. My salon business failed, the California fires burned my estate. I experienced total destitution in one short year. I was ignorant to the second most profitable crime in the world, trafficking … humans being transactional.”
“When I had to appropriate a vehicle, I prayed God would get me and that child to safety where the police could help. I did not hit eight vehicles which original news articles alleged. No one was hurt. Authorities were made aware of the criminal ring I almost fell victim to, and I have served my time for the appropriation of the vehicle. I have paid my dues owed to my community for the confusion I did not intend to place on my community. Local authorities did an amazing job through the arrest, and their efforts in protecting everyone involved, as well as my attorney, Richard P. Davies, of Reno, who helped expose the very real circumstances I experienced and overcame.”
“One cannot easily explain the effects of trauma in such a deep place of survival mode, but thanks to movies such as the Sound of Freedom, and the recent light that has been shed on the Epstein cases, I am no longer afraid to speak up. I have done so much healing and education, and I continue to stay true to my humanitarian efforts I’ve enjoyed my whole life and stay true to my altruism. I have total support from my community, family, friends and authorities through my journey, and I am thriving. Success is not a straight line, so those trying … don’t be so hard on yourself, you’re doing a great job. If I can inspire one struggling person to find the strength to speak up, or to find recovery, or one cop to listen, and for women and girls to not care what bullies, or keyboard warriors have to say, then everything I have been through and overcame is worth it to me.”
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