Former Kings defenseman Slava Voynov petitions court to dismiss domestic violence case
Three years after Slava Voynov pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of corporal injury to a spouse, the former standout defenseman for the Kings has asked the Los Angeles County Superior Court to dismiss the conviction.
The petition could be a step toward Voynov’s return to the NHL.
Voynov’s wife, Marta Varlamova, told police in October 2014 that her husband punched her left jaw outside of a Halloween party. The dispute continued at the couple’s Redondo Beach home, according to the police report, where Voynov choked her with both hands three times, repeatedly pushed her to the ground, kicked her five to six times on the ground and eventually shoved her into the corner of a flat-screen television mounted on a wall.
“My blood, all over bedroom and bathroom,” Varlamova told police in a recorded interview. “And it’s not the first time.”
Attorneys for Voynov and Varlamova repeatedly described it as an accident.
The police report said Voynov told Varlamova “there would be no more money” and “he wanted a divorce” during the altercation. The couple had been married for two months.
After pleading no contest to the misdemeanor charge as part of a deal with prosecutors, Voynov served almost two months in jail. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement took him into custody after his release. He returned to his native Russia rather than face deportation proceedings.
The Kings terminated his six-year, $25-million contract at the time but retained his rights.
Voynov’s petition is scheduled to be heard July 2, the same day his three years of probation end.
The L.A. County district attorney’s office and Immigration and Customs Enforcement declined to comment.
Voynov, who plays professionally for SKA St. Petersburg in the Kontinental Hockey League, helped the Olympic Athletes From Russia win gold at the Pyeongchang Olympics in February.
He remains suspended from the NHL, which blocked him from playing in the World Cup in 2016.
If Voynov wanted to return to the league, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said he would first face a hearing before Commissioner Gary Bettman to determine his eligibility to play and any conditions of a return.
Times staff writer Helene Elliott contributed to this report.
Twitter: @nathanfenno
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