A domestic assault case against anti-violence advocate Charles Willis has been dropped.

A judge in Richmond Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court on Wednesday granted a request from special prosecutor Avery Jucksch of Chesterfield County to dismiss the case.

Willis, who serves as executive director of United Communities Against Crime and has been part of efforts around public safety and preventing gun violence in Richmond for decades, was arrested in April after Richmond police answered a call for a domestic dispute at his home.

Willis was charged with assault and battery on a family member and suffocation. The criminal complaint filed in the District Court Clerk’s Office alleges he struck his fiancée multiple times and choked her. 

Jucksch requested the dismissal because prosecutors believed there was not enough evidence to continue the case. When asked after the hearing what evidence was lacking or how long it might take to reopen the case, she declined to comment.

Willis’ attorney Alex Taylor sought a dismissal of the case, citing a signed witness affidavit from Brinnay C. Bell that disputed the earlier allegations against his client.

“He did not choke her, he did not assault her,” Taylor said. “We don’t believe the Commonwealth would prevail.”

Taylor expressed no concern about the case being reopened, citing the absence of video evidence of the alleged crimes.

Willis declined to comment on the hearing’s outcome, referring questions to his attorney.