We may never know exactly what transpired between Ronnie Ortiz-Magro and his girlfriend, Saffire Matos, late last month.
We may never know exactly why the Jersey Shore star was arrested on yet another charge of domestic violence.
But do now know what the future likely holds for Ronnie.
And it’s not nearly as bleak as many observers feared.
When news of this arrest first broke, many assumed Ron was in so much trouble that he might end up in jail for some time.
But according to TMZ, Ronnie will not be charged with a felony.
What that means for his future isn’t entirely clear, but it’s a lot better for him than if he were charged with a felony.
The veteran and often-violent reality star was arrested on April 22 booked for “intimate partner violence with injury with priors,” per the Los Angeles Police Department.
Not many other details have been made available since the alleged incident took place.
Ronnie’s ex-girlfriend, Jen Harley, has confirmed she was NOT the alleged victim in this case – she retrieved the couple’s daughter, Ariana, after the fact.
This – and comments by Harley’s boyfriend Joe – led most people to assume that Matos was involved in whatever sort of confronation prompted this arrest.
Just over a week since Ronnie was taken into custody, the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office has determined it didn’t have sufficient evidence to charge the MTV personality with a felony.
To be clear, Ronnie could still be hit with a misdemeanor.
And, to be clear, Ronnie may still be in serious legal trouble because even a misdemeanor could result in a probation violation (from Ronnie’s last domestic violence arrest) and he still may wind up behind bars.
But his attorney sees this as a victory.
“If this reporting is true, as we said from the beginning, initial reports and unreviewed charges are often and; in Ronnie’s case, wrong,” his lawyer told TMZ on Monday.
“We are glad the DA’s office made this decision not to charge a felony.”
“We will await a decision from the County Attorney’s office.”
Whatever happened, let’s be clear on this one troubling fact:
Following the arrest, Ronnie showed no remorse whatsoever.
Based on since-deleted Instagram messages, he got into it with Harley’s new boyfriend, even threatening to run the dude over with a car.
In the only public statement he made after the run-in, Ronnie said:
“I take all experiences as lessons.”
Sounds sort of insightful, right?
But then he added;
“You learn who really cares about you when [you’re] down and out and [then] you see who doesn’t!”
“But I guess they call it the weeding process.”
“Thank you to my real friends who haven’t left my side and haven’t betrayed me.”
Matos, for her part, has tried to downplay the argument, even though TMZ sources report she called 911 as a result of it and that she even had marks on her body at the time.
“I don’t think it’s fair that people are using false accusations to gain attention,” she wrote online last month, concluding:
“Please leave Ron and I alone.”
“You don’t know what someone is going through at the end of the day. Don’t believe everything you hear or read online.”
“I’d appreciate privacy please,” she said.
“Thanks for all your support.”
No Jersey Shore star or producer has yet commented on yet another legal mess for one of the show’s original cast members.
And it’s important to remember that he has not been convicted of any crime here.
Yet:
A lack of evidence could also just mean that Matos is afraid of testifying against her boyfriend.
Jen Harley and her boyfriend certainly don’t feel a lot of sympathy for him, that’s for dang sure.
Yes, they’re clearly quite biased and perhaps not the most stable, reliable narrators either.
If Ron’s alleged behavior toward Harley and her current lover is any indication, we’re scared for anyone in his inner circle.
Seriously, the guy is telling us a lot about himself these days. Instead of just laying low, or defending himself, he’s …
… uh, going off on Jen and Joe, who were not even involved in whatever the heck happened last month.
Bottom line: Ronnie continually getting into these questionable kinds of circumstances is beyond messed up.
Frankly, it should raise an obvious question:
When wlll he be fired by MTV?
And to that, an obvious answer:
Not soon enough.