Jersey Shore's Ronnie Ortiz-Magro pleads no contest, avoids jail in domestic violence case

Ronnie Ortiz-Magro is not going to jail.

Ortiz-Magro struck a plea deal and pleaded no contest to one count of domestic battery and one count of resisting arrest stemming from an Oct. 4 incident in the Hollywood Hills area of Los Angeles when police were called to a home where Ortiz-Magro, Jen Harley and their then 20-month old child were staying.

While he's not going behind bars, he will be on probation for 36 months. He is also required to: serve 30 days of community labor in his home state of Nevada; pay $20,000 to the Jewish Family Services of L.A., a women’s shelter; complete a 52-week domestic violence program in Nevada; and must abide by a three-year protection order, according to US Weekly.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney had charged Ortiz-Magro with felony kidnapping, but that was dropped in favor of the misdemeanor charges, and the case was bumped over to the LA City Attorney.

“The suspect and victim were involved in some type of physical altercation. When officers arrived they had to deploy their tasers on the suspect and minor use of force occurred,” an LAPD spokesman said at the time. “There was a child at that location. That child was unharmed.”

There was also an alleged violent incident between the troubled couple on Jan. 11 that left Ortiz-Magro the victim of assault, according to his lawyers. The trouble happened in Ortiz-Magro’s Las Vegas home, according to his lawyers. So far, no charges have been filed in the incident.

Ortiz-Magro and Harley have a history of domestic altercations and arrests. Harley allegedly threw an ashtray at Ortiz-Magro during a brush up at the Hustler Club in Las Vegas on Dec. 31. He was struck in the face and filed a battery report with the police. Charges were later dropped.

That incident followed one in June 2018 in which Ortiz-Magro was caught in a seat belt outside of a car driven by Harley with their child inside in Las Vegas. He was dragged and suffered a rash and a bruised face. Harley was arrested but the case was “denied due to insufficient evidence,” the Clark County district attorney said at the time.

Ortiz-Magro hopes he can “move forward.”

“I mean, one day at a time,” Ortiz-Magro said about the arrest in the April 23 episode of “Jersey Shore Family Vacation.” “A bunch of unfortunate events that were completely out of my control, and all I can do is stay away from the situation that got me to where that is.

“All I can do is move forward and hope it never happens again, and just grow as a person and grow as a man and grow as a father. That's all I can really do.”

More: Jersey Shore stars don't know why Sammi Sweetheart unfriended them on Facebook

Ortiz-Magro’s lawyer did not reply to a request for comment by press time for this article and Lisa Bloom, Harley's lawyer, declined to comment.

Chris Jordan, a Jersey Shore native, covers entertainment and features for the USA Today Network New Jersey. His multiple awards include recognition for stories on both Bruce Springsteen and “Jersey Shore.” Contact him at @chrisfhjordan; [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Jersey Shore: Ronnie Ortiz-Magro avoids jail in domestic violence case