Hayden Panettiere's father arrested

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 11 (UPI) -- Alan Panettiere, the father of teen actress Hayden Panettiere, was arrested for alleged felony domestic violence at his family's Los Angeles home, police said.

Hayden Panettiere, who turns 19 later this month, is best known for her portrayal of cheerleader Claire on the supernatural TV drama, "Heroes." She previously had roles on the soap operas "One Life to Live" and "Guiding Light."

"There was a domestic argument between the mother and father," Sgt. Scott Wolf of the West Hollywood sheriffs told People.com of Monday morning's incident. "He got upset and struck the mother in the face one or two times on the left cheek, which caused some bruising. From what I'm told, he hit her with a closed fist. The mother called police shortly before 3 a.m., and Mr. Panettiere was taken into custody. He's been cooperative. Earlier, they were at a party and the husband apparently felt disrespected by his wife."

Wolf also told People.com Alan Panettiere was arrested on a felony rather than a misdemeanor charge because "there were visible signs of injury" on wife Lesley Vogel's face.

Wolf added Panettiere has not yet given his side of the story and is still in police custody, pending $50,000 bail.