Courtesy of Nathan Griffith/Instagram; Palm Beach County Sheriff
‘Teen Mom 2’ Alum Nathan Griffith Arrested for Domestic Battery in Florida
Former Teen Mom 2 star Nathan Griffith was arrested in Palm Beach County, Florida, and charged with domestic battery, In Touch can confirm.
Griffith, 35, was taken into custody just after 4:00 am in Delray Beach, Florida, on Friday, February 24. He was charged with domestic battery by strangulation, according to the booking report viewed by In Touch.
According to the police report obtained by In Touch, Griffith’s brother-in-law called the police and stated that the former reality star called him to discuss his mental state. Griffith said he “lost it” and began choking his girlfriend, Victoria Ruggiero.
When the responding officer arrived to the scene of the incident, Griffith was reportedly uncooperative. Meanwhile, Ruggiero was crying when the officer approached her. She explained she was alone in a room when Griffith entered and became physically aggressive. Ruggiero told officers that she couldn’t detail exactly what happened during the incident, though said she “blacked out.”
According to the report, Ruggiero had bruising around her neck and under her jaw that the officer suspects was caused by being strangled.
The probable cause affidavit states that Griffith was charged with domestic battery due to strangulation.
Griffith is scheduled to return to court on March 27, while an initial conference will be held on April 20.
Less than one year prior to his arrest, In Touch exclusively revealed that Jenelle Evans’ ex-fiancé married Mayra Oyola. Griffith and Mayra tied the knot in Miami on April 30, 2022. Their relationship status is not currently clear.
This is not Griffith’s first run-in with the law, however. The former male model was arrested in North Carolina in 2019 for driving under the influence.
“We got a call at around 5:23 pm about a person unconscious in a vehicle at the Harris Teeter. When the fire department arrived on the scene, they found that the vehicle was running and determined the nature of the call was not medical, so they contacted PD,” the Cary Police Department told People at the time. “Our officer arrived on the scene, conducted a DWI investigation, formed the opinion that he was impaired and placed him under arrest.”
After failing to appear in court for the DWI charges, an arrest warrant was issued in March 2021. Hours later, however, it was determined that the order for arrest was a mistake and was recalled, according to TMZ.
The former U.S. Marine was first introduced to MTV viewers during season 5 of Teen Mom 2 after he and Jenelle met online. The two connected via Tinder following the former reality star’s split from ex-husband Courtland Rogers and quickly became serious. Following the birth of their son, Kaiser, Griffith popped the question in January 2015, though they never made it down the aisle. Jenelle moved on with now-husband David Eason.
In 2019, Griffith entered into a heated custody battle with his ex over their son after CPS removed Kaiser from Evans’ home during an investigation following an incident where her husband shot and killed the family’s dog on the family’s property while the children were at home. Evans and Eason ultimately regained custody of Kaiser and their daughter, Ensley, after a judge dismissed the case.
“I’ve calmed down a bit and [am] just relying on my faith at this moment,” Griffith wrote via Twitter following the ruling.
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