Now injured Voynov hires Blair Berk, gets trial moved again
Los Angeles Kings defenseman Slava Voynov, who was charged with one felony count of corporal injury to a spouse with great bodily injury after a domestic violence incident involving his wife Marta Varlamova, was supposed to appear on trial beginning April 21 to discuss the case.
The final pretrial hearing for Voynov took place Wednesday and some very interesting tidbits of information arose from the event.
- Voynov showed up to the pretrial injured walking on crutches with his right foot and lower leg in a boot, reports Rich Hammond of the Orange County Register. Jon Rosen of LA Kings Insider reports that Voynov suffered a torn Achilles and had surgery on it last week
- Voynov's legal team now includes Blair Berk, who has represented many high-profile athletes and celebrities such as Mel Gibson and Bruce Jenner
- The attorney for Varlamova told the court that she is not willing to provide testimony in the case, reports Nathan Fenno of the Los Angeles Times
- Deputy District Attorney Frank Dunnick said Varlamova had "no right to refuse to testify" and asked that she testify today in the pretrial
- After a long bench conference between the lawyers and the judge, the trial was moved from April 21 to July 6.
The issue of if and when Voynov's wife could testify will be addressed in the coming weeks.
Because Varlamova isn't on trial, she is not obligated to testify and her attorney said that "she does not wish to explain or justify the reasons" for not testifying.
Voynov was suspended with pay by the Kings on Oct. 20, 2014 and cannot participate in any team activities while serving the suspension.