Sacramento Kings forward Ron Artest pleaded not guilty Thursday to misdemeanor charges stemming from a domestic dispute with his wife this month.
A Placer County (Calif.) Superior Court judge also ordered him to stay at least 100 yards away from his wife and children until further notice.
Artest’s attorney, William Portanova, entered pleas of not guilty to charges of battery and corporal injury to a spouse, false imprisonment and dissuading a witness from reporting a crime.
Artest sat in the audience section of the small courtroom in Auburn, Calif., among other defendants and members of the media. He spoke only when asked direct questions by Judge Francis Kearney, responding “no” when asked if he owned firearms and “yes” when asked if he understood the conditions of the restraining order.
Thomas Leupp, an attorney for Kimsha Artest, told the judge Artest’s wife was not requesting a restraining order. Artest will be allowed to communicate with his family by telephone, e-mail and letter, the judge said.
“We all decided that was the right thing to do for the family,” Portanova said. “That is the right thing for now.”
Artest is due back in court April 5.
He was arrested March 5 at his estate in Loomis, 25 miles northeast of Sacramento. He is accused of grabbing, pushing and slapping his wife during an argument. The couple’s 3-year-old daughter was home at the time.
Bucks: Forward Charlie Villanueva is scheduled to have season-ending surgery on his right shoulder Tuesday.
