The reason why a Miami fitness influencer won’t face domestic violence charges
Among the many roles Miami’s Stefi Cohen claims in her life — champion powerlifter, boxer, physical therapist, fitness influencer — defendant in a domestic violence case won’t be one of them.
The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office won’t file a misdemeanor battery charge against Cohen after her July 1 arrest. Her boyfriend and alleged victim, boxer Tristan Hamm, refused to cooperate with prosecutors. The case was closed officially Wednesday, as first reported by TMZ.
Only Hamm and Cohen were present at the Coconut Grove home that they share on July 1. The next day, Hamm contacted prosecutors.
“The victim denied any battery occurring,” said the close out memo by Joshua Amador, division chief of the misdemeanor domestic violence unit. “The victim stated he was not in fear of the defendant. The victim stated that no one was forcing him or threatening him to drop charges. The victim stated he was voluntarily choosing not to move forward with the case.”
Without Hamm’s cooperation, prosecutors couldn’t prove Cohen committed battery so, “the State does not have a good faith basis upon which to file charges.”
READ MORE: Did a fitness coach post nudes of her ex’s girlfriend and break a Miami police car?
In other pending criminal cases, Cohen’s still facing first degree grand theft, felony unauthorized access of a computer, misdemeanor sexual cyberharassment, misdemeanor criminal mischief, and resisting arrest without violence. She’s accused of getting into an ex-boyfriend’s computer, getting nude photos of his new girlfriend and posting them online.
He said scratches, she said punches
The arrest report by Miami police officers from July 1 said Hamm, in a sworn recorded statement, told police he noticed Cohen recording their “heated” argument about their two and a half year relationship. So, the report said, Hamm decided to depart the house, grabbing his phone along the way. Cohen, he told police, thought he’d grabbed her phone.
“[Hamm] reported that [Cohen] began to scratch him and, at one point, tore his pants pocket in an attempt to remove the cell phone from him,” the arrest affidavit said. [Hamm] mentioned that [Cohen[ scratched him on his neck and chest area.”
Police said they could see “multiple scratches” on Hamm’s forehead, face, neck and chest and stomach.
When officers spoke to Cohen, the report said, she claimed Hamm hit her with a closed fist in the right eye and scratched her on the left side of the face. Police noticed only a “small red scratch on her inner bicep area.”
The report said with “there is no physical evidence of injuries on [Cohen] that supports” that supports the claim she was punched in the right eye by a “professoinal fighter,” but Hamm’s injuries backed up his version of events.
“[Cohen] was arrested and charged accordingly.”
