Former Scandal star Columbus Short has formally been charged following his domestic violence arrest earlier in February. The Los Angeles City Attorney this week officially charged the actor with two misdemeanor counts – one for domestic violence and one for child endangerment – in connection to an argument with his wife, Aida Abramyan-Short, that turned violent.
TMZ reported on Wednesday that “prosecutors are officially going after” Short. According to the outlet, Short’s case was originally presented for potential felony charges to the L.A. County D.A. However, it was later presented to the City Attorney, who ultimately moved forward with the two misdemeanor charges. TMZ reported that the child endangerment charge was due to the fact that the domestic violence incident took place in front of a child. Further details were not provided at this time, and it is unclear when Short is set to make a court appearance. The actor has not issued a public statement regarding the charges.
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The charges stem from a Feb. 2 incident involving Short’s wife. According to previous reports, police were called to a home in the San Fernando Valley at around 10:30 p.m. on Feb. 2. Law enforcement was called to the home after a verbal argument between Short and his wife allegedly turned physical. When police arrived, Short told officers his wife punched him, though officers did not see visible marks. Responding officers also spoke to Abramyan-Short, who suffered a minor injury, which did not require medical attention. Short was subsequently arrested for felony domestic violence because of the injury. He remained in police custody for about 12 hours before he posted a $50,000 bond.
Shortly after the incident, Short addressed his arrest in a since-deleted Instagram post. In the post, Short wrote, “Marriages are challenging but getting through it is the blessing! I AM not [an] abusive man nor am I on drugs but drinking alcohol makes my words unholy sometimes.” The actor claimed that he and his wife were “working” on their marriage. He offered further comments in the accompanying video.
“I know there’s some stuff out here in the media again, arrested for felony domestic violence, but let me tell you what really happened,” he said, according to Fox News. “I asked my wife to leave the home due to my frustration and I grabbed her phone, which I shouldn’t have [done] and I scratched her hand. Post-OJ, the police came here, detectives were here, it was a whole just ridiculous thing… Based on that scratch, I went to jail. I’m sorry for anybody that I let down. I’m grinding, I’m working hard, but, my apologies.”
The February arrest marked the latest for Short. The actor was previously sentenced to three years probation, 60 days community service, and to take 26 anger management classes after he was arrested in March 2014 after he got into a fight at a Los Angeles bar, and knocked a man unconscious. In 2018, while he was still on probation, Short was arrested again after he allegedly hit Abramyan-Short during an argument. He pleaded no contest and spent 34 days behind bars.
