Avalanche goalie, Semyon Varlamov, surrendered himself on a warrant for domestic violence charges on Wednesday evening. The incident giving rise to the charges happened on Tuesday in Denver. Varlamov has been charged with second degree kidnapping and third degree assault as acts of domestic violence. Kidnapping is a class four felony. The assault charge is a class one misdemeanor. Varlamov will spend Wednesday night in jail because the warrant issued was issued as a no bond hold, meaning Varlamov must be seen by a judge before a bond amount is even set.
The charges Varlamov is facing are certainly serious. Assault is punishable by up to two years in jail and kidnapping is punishable by up to six years in prison. Currently, very little is known about the factual allegations against Varlamov. When people hear the term “kidnapping,” many think of a person who captures another person, ties them up and takes them to a distant location; however, the legal definition of kidnapping is much different. For example, a person may move a person from the kitchen into a back bedroom of a house and, depending on the circumstances, this could be kidnapping under the law.
In addition, the fact that Varlamov was held initially on a no bond hold may suggest very serious allegations. Again, being charged with any crime is serious and little is currently known about the factual allegations, but in all domestic violence cases in Colorado, warrants are issued as no bond holds. The law requires that all people charged with domestic violence charges, whether charged with a low level petty offense or a high level felony, be seen by a judge before a bond can be set. At least part of the reason for the requirement of a no bond hold in domestic violence cases is so that a mandatory protection order enters before the person charged is released back into the community on bond. Mandatory protection orders in domestic violence cases often restrict contact between the person charged and the named victim. Judges have the authority to restrict contact even if the named victim does not want a restriction in place.
Source: https://m.denverpost.com/denverpost/db_21611/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=Vpi550vM