LOS ANGELES — UPDATE (September 27): East Tennessee native Michael Ketterer, who finished in 5th place on this season's "America's Got Talent," will not face charges after he was arrested last week for domestic violence in Los Angeles.
The performer isn't completely off the hook yet, though.
Instead, he will have a City Attorney Office hearing, Frank Mateljan, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office, confirmed to 10News on Thursday.
Since no charges were ever filed, the spokesperson said the city still has the ability to file charges up to a year following the time Ketterer was arrested. So long as Ketterer avoids any more trouble and attends the hearing, no further action will be taken against him.
"During those hearings the parties involved are scheduled to come in to our office and relay the details of the event in question, are advised of the law and are given suggestions as to how to avoid future similar incidents," Mateljan explained via email to USA TODAY. "While we do reserve the right to file criminal charges up to one year from the date of the incident, no further action is taken pending any additional information or actions."
A meeting date hasn't been scheduled but should be in the next month of so. During that meeting, Ketterer will be able to explain his side of the story. He will then be advised about what the law is and how to avoid getting into a similar situation in the future.
Earlier in the week, Garth Brooks announced the he and Ketterer mutually agreed to cancel Ketterer's appearance at Brook's show at Notre Dame in October. The two were originally scheduled to perform the song Brooks had penned for him for the America's Got Talent finals.
Original Story: East Tennessee native Michael Ketterer, who finished in 5th place on this season's "America's Got Talent," was arrested Thursday for domestic violence in Los Angeles.
According to the LAPD, the felony arrest came at 3:45 p.m. in the 1700 block of North Highland. They could not reveal any information about the victim.
TMZ, who first reported the arrest, said officers were called after Ketterer got into a fight with his wife. He was arrested when they noticed she had a visible red mark.
Ketterer told TMZ that is was a big misunderstanding, and that his wife didn't want to press charges, but they arrested him anyway.
TMZ reported they were told by law enforcement sources that the case will be downgraded to a misdemeanor because the injury was so minor.
According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department website, Ketterer was released on a $50,000 bond a few hours after his arrest. He has a court date set for Oct. 19.
Ketterer, who was championed throughout the show's run by judge Simon Cowell, was also a fan favorite. He and his wife have 6 children, five of them adopted from foster care. He works as a pediatric mental health nurse and worship leader at his church.
On the morning of the arrest, Ketterer posted a photo of him and his children that said "So happy to finally rest with my babies! This has been such a wild ride for all of us. Im sending out a huge thanks to all my fans."
He grew up in East Tennessee, but now lives in Los Angeles.
Ketterer wowed the judges and crowd from his first live performance where he earned the 'Golden Buzzer' from Simon Cowell.
Since then, Ketterer has gained fans by not only his voice, but personality, his values and love for his family.
On the show's finale, Ketterer sang a song written specially for him by country music star Garth Brooks. The ballad focused on "the courage of love."