Shahs of Sunset star Mike Shouhed is facing time behind bars following his domestic violence arrest earlier this year. Months after news broke that Shouhed was taken into police custody following an incident involving a woman, now identified as fiancé Paulina Ben-Cohen, legal documents obtained by TMZ revealed that the reality TV star is now facing a total of 13 charges, including domestic violence.
According to the documents, reported by TMZ Tuesday morning, Shouhed is facing multiple misdemeanor charges. Notably, he is charged with domestic violence, as well as battery and unlawfully attempting to dissuade a witness. Per the outlet, Shouhed is also facing several weapons charges, including criminal storage of a loaded firearm and possession of an assault weapon. At this time, the status of Shouhed’s criminal case remains unclear.
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The charges stem from an incident in March of this year. The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed at the time, per Page Six, that officers responded to a call of “unknown” trouble at approximately 10 p.m. on the night of March 27. Details of the incident were not specified, though the LAPD did confirm that Shouhed was arrested for “intimate partner violence with injury,” a domestic violence charge used when there is “visible injury” on the victim, who was not identified. Shouhed was then booked around 1:05 a.m. and held until 6:35 a.m., when he was released from police custody after posting a $50,000 in bond. His court date was set for July 25, and his attorney, Alex Kessel, said in a statement to PEOPLE, “My own investigation reveals no acts of domestic violence was committed by my client. I have no doubt Mike will be exonerated. Please honor the presumption of innocence.”
At the time, the female victim was not identified. However, TMZ confirmed Tuesday that Ben-Cohen was the victim. In a statement, her attorney Joshua Ritter told the outlet, “Paulina’s primary focus is on keeping herself and her children safe. She supports the work that the police and the City Attorney’s Office have done and she continues to cooperate with them, while looking forward to putting this sad situation behind her and moving on with her life.” Shouhed has not addressed news of his charges at this time.
Shouhed and Ben-Cohen announced their engagement during the Shahs of Sunset Season 9 reunion in August 2021, with Shouhed sharing, “I actually asked her son his permission to marry his mommy, and I gave him the ring.’ Shouhed dropped to one knee and popped the question while he and Ben-Cohen were in Hawaii. Amid news of Shouhed’s arrest, it was confirmed in April that Shahs of Sunset was canceled after nine seasons. The cancellation does not appear to have been influenced by Shouhed’s legal trouble, with sources instead revealing that the network felt the show ran its course.
