NEED TO KNOW
- Cashel Barnett was arrested in Salt Lake City, Utah on Monday, May 19
- He faces charges of assault, aggravated assault and domestic violence in the presence of a child
- Barnett’s lawyer said that after the reality star found out about an arrest warrant in his name, he “retained counsel” and “surrendered” in Utah’s Third District Court
Love Island USA alum Cashel Barnett has been put behind bars.
Barnett, 34, was arrested in Salt Lake City, Utah on Monday, May 19 on charges including assault, aggravated assault and domestic violence in the presence of a child, according to arrest records viewed by PEOPLE.
This comes after an arrest warrant was issued by a judge for The Challenge: USA star’s arrest on May 12. The reality star’s former partner reportedly told authorities that she would be at risk of being killed if he wasn’t detained and that he had previously threatened her life, according to Entertainment Weekly and NBC News.
Barnett’s attorney Andrew K. Deesing did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on the matter.
Deesing told EW that “upon finding out about the arrest warrant,” Barnett “immediately retained counsel and then surrendered on the arrest warrant in Utah’s Third District Court first thing” on Monday morning.
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The TV star is next scheduled in court for a detention hearing on Thursday, May 22. Deesing said, “We are obviously in the very early stages here and won’t have any comment until after that hearing on Thursday.”
The charges were brought after Barnett’s former partner filed a police report on April 25 alleging that the Love Island star assaulted her on April 10 during an argument in front of their child. She claimed in the report, per EW and NBC News, that she tried to calm Barnett down by hugging him.
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However, she alleged that Barnett slapped her arms away and then followed her to a bedroom, where he picked her up by her neck with both hands and slammed her onto the bed. She claimed in the report, per NBC News, that he had put “continuous pressure” on her neck and that she “was unable to breathe and her vision went blurry.”
The woman also claimed that he had “slapped” her in the face during another instance in their argument and told her, “You’re fine.”
Following the incident, she alleged in the police report that she experienced “difficulty breathing, a raspy voice, coughing, trouble swallowing, neck pain, nausea, vomiting, agitation, amnesia, memory loss, visual changes” and a “headache.”
The aggravated assault and domestic violence charges were presented on May 9, per EW.
Barnett is best known for appearing in the first season of Love Island USA, which premiered in 2019. He later went on to star in The Challenge: USA in 2022. According to his Instagram page, he currently works as a drummer in a band.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
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