Former Teen Mom 2 dad Nathan Griffith has pleaded guilty to a charge of “Attempted Battery by Strangulation.”
Starcasm broke the news that the baby daddy (and former soulmate) of Jenelle Evans signed a Guilty Plea Agreement on September 14 in a Clark County, Nevada, courtroom. Although the charge— which stems from an incident from July in which Nathan assaulted his sister, Heather Griffith, by choking her and threatening to kill her—is listed as a Felony/Gross Misdemeanor, Nathan agreed to have it treated as a felony.
As The Ashley previously reported, Nathan was initially charged with “Felony Battery by Strangulation.” In the agreement, that was taken down to the “Attempted Battery by Strangulation” charge. In order to be released on bail back in July, Nathan was required to have “high-level electronic monitoring” by Nevada’s Pretrial Compliance Unit. (Nathan was given the highest level of monitoring that the state offers.)
Although Nathan received a “satisfactory” progress report on July 15 from the PCU, he was given an “unsatisfactory” report on September 3.
In his guilty plea agreement, the State agreed to release Nathan from the Pretrial Compliance Unit monitoring, and to dismiss all of Nate’s other charges from the original criminal complaint, as soon as Nathan pleaded guilty and had been sentenced.
Nathan also had to agree to forfeit any weapons he had that were associated with the case.
The State is allowing Nate’s case to be moved to Veteran’s Court, as Nathan served in the U.S. Marines Corp.
According to its website, the Veterans Treatment Court (VTC) program “is designed to confront and treat the substance abuse and mental health issues which contribute to the criminal behavior of Veterans Court participants.”
Veterans referred to this court usually have substance abuse, military trauma or mental health issues, and are at substantial risk to reoffend without intervention. However, most candidates for Veterans Court have to be free from violent offenses, which Nate is not.
The State is also agreeing to the possibility of deferred adjudication, stating that Nevada Probation Guidelines will allow Nathan to avoid a formal conviction on his record (and possibly have this charge expunged from his record), provided he completes the requirements of his probation, which were not disclosed at this time.
According to Starcasm, the guilty plea agreement that Nathan signed requires him to appear at all court hearings; be in contact with the Department of Parole and Probation as requested; comply with the Veterans Court treatment program, and stay out of trouble. The agreement specifically states that Nathan is forbidden from catching new charges for things like DUI or reckless driving, or anything more-serious than a minor traffic violation.
Should he pick up any new charges— or fail to follow through with his other commitments— the State will ask that Nathan be sentenced and jailed for the Attempted Battery by Strangulation crime he pleaded guilty to.
“I am pleading guilty, including the use of any prior convictions I may have to increase my sentence as an habitual criminal…” the guilty plea agreement Nathan signed states.
He also acknowledged that it’s up to the Court if his offense will be treated as a felony or gross misdemeanor. If the Court treats it as a felony, and Nathan fails to follow the conditions set for him, he could be incarcerated in Nevada State Prison for a minimum term of one year, but not more than four years. (He could also be fined up to $5,000.)
Should the Court regard the crime as a gross misdemeanor and Nathan screws up, he could get placed in county jail for up to 364 days and fined $2,000.
Staying out of trouble may not be easy for the former ‘Teen Mom 2’ dad. Just weeks before his arrest for his attack on his sister, Nate was hauled off to jail in Miami Beach, Florida, for DUI, refusing to have his blood alcohol level tested, and for driving with a knowingly suspended license. This is just one of many DUI and alcohol-related offenses Nathan has been arrested for over the past 10 years.
In February, Nathan was charged with committing “Domestic Battery by Strangulation” for an attack on a girlfriend in Palm Beach County, Florida. (He was dating this girl while “on break” from his marriage to May Oyola.) His charges for that incident were dismissed, due to the victim being “uncooperative.”
Earlier this month, Nathan revealed that he and his wife May had gotten back together and moved to Las Vegas.
Nathan is not permitted to have any contact with his sister– who also lives in Vegas. A no-contact order has been put in place until at least November 15.
Nate’s next court date will be for a probation status check on December 14.
RELATED STORY: EXCLUSIVE! Jenelle Evans Faces Off In Court With Mom Barbara Evans Over Restraining Order: Here’s What Happened
(Photos: MTV; Instagram)
Thus guy…he is beyond all hope. Glad he was convicted but I think his conviction isn’t hard enough. He belongs in jail.
Everytime he pulls a stint like this I feel so bad for Kaiser and Maryssa (hope I wrote her name right). They have no sense of stability and they can’t count on their biological father to bring them some.
He’s not Maryssa’s father, only Kaiser but he has another daughter that he’s not allowed to see.
I thought he was on good terms with his ex wife. He admitted he f’ed up and didn’t see his kids but he’s not allowed to see her?
Mom protecting her child or child expressing she has no interest? She’s probably old enough now to have a say about visitation.
Um…Maryssa isn’t Nathan’s daughter…she’s David’s with his ex. Nathan has a girl a couple years older than Kaiser with an unknown ex.
Maryssa’s father is David.
Oh yeah, sorry everyone. I mixed the names.
He is going to kill someone. This isn’t a one time thing. Once again he gets no serious jail time. He has now choked two ex’s and his own sister. Strangling someone is just a step below actually killing someone. The justice system is a fucking joke, you get more time smoking weed.
Violent, addicted abusers get a slap in the wrist time and time again as long as they are yt dudes apparently, just look at what’s going on with Nathan and Ryan Edwards. Disgusting
Sadly, it seems that Nathan is going to continue to get drunk & strangle these women, until he “accidentally” kills one of them. I feel like his violence is alcohol related, but maybe I am wrong and he’s violent with or without alcohol added. In any case he needs to stop the drinking. He also needs to stop getting off on these charges, and pay for his crimes.
Steroids, alcohol, and God only knows what else Nathan is on..
So he pleads guilty and doesn’t get any jail time unless he commits another crime? That’s absolute bullshit! He just pleaded guilty so he could escape Any real consequences. I hope he doesn’t follow his parole asap and actually serves time. This is a serious crime, bail is not enough
The scary thing is..next time he commits this same type of crime, it may be the death of somebody. Then everyone will be asking how the hell he was able to get away with choking so many different women, without ever paying the consequences. It’s crazy, how many times he has been arrested for this same violent crime.
It goes to show you that with some people alcohol can be just as harmful as narcotics.
Im sorry but I dont think he’ll make it without help for his addiction and mental health issues.
When they don’t take him because of the charges, he’s going to start a year in jail within 6 months.
He’s back with his wife and they drive eachother mad, literally.
There stats that show offenders who use strangulation while committing DV are significantly moser likely to commit DV that results in death later on. Some prosecutors take these case way more seriously as a result, but here we go Nathan getting another slap on the wrist. Someone is going to die or at least hurt again because the justice system does not take DV seriously.
Ugh typos
And when he ultimately kills someone, will he then go to jail? Or get bail again, the justice system is so screwed up, this isn’t like he was charged with speeding or even more seriously , a DUI. He nearly killer someone and it’s not even a first offence. It’s like they want him to kill someone before they consider it to be serious enough to give him real consequences.
I give it less than 5 months before he hurts someone again- and I just pray he doesn’t actually kill them. And he gets put away once and for all.
I hope May has friends or family that will convince her to leave him before it’s too late. She’s at so much risk.
He already assaulted her and tried to choke women before.
I doubt whether he will be able to stay out of jail. That might save her life when she can’t see the harsh truth.