Busted MMA fighters and fights

[GeneChing]

MMA fighter Imani Smith found guilty of six counts of indecent exposure
A Virginia-based fighter faces three years in jail after exposing himself to women at a shopping mall.
By Tim Bissell@timobiss Sep 27, 2018, 1:00pm EDT


Virginia Beach Police Department
[TW] The following story details multiple incidents of indecent exposure.

In June Imani Smith, 24, was arrested by police in Virginia Beach, VA under suspicion of being a serial flasher. Smith was charged with six counts of indecent exposure relating to incidents that occurred at the Landstown Commons shopping center.

Smith, who was dubbed the ‘Landstown flasher,’ was accused of sitting in his car outside of the shopping center and beckoning passing women over to him, saying he wanted some directions. When women approached the car, it was alleged, that Smith exposed himself to them and performed a sexual act on himself.

After his arrest Smith claimed he was innocent of all charges. He said he was not in Virginia Beach when the flashing incidents occurred and that he had photographic evidence to prove this. On Wednesday he was found guilty of all six charges for indecent exposure (per WKTR).

Additionally, Smith was also found guilty of four counts of masturbation or simulated in public. Smith was sentenced to around three years in prison for the crimes. However, he has been granted a $5,000 bond. With his bond satisfied, Smith will be able to stay out of jail while he appeals the conviction.

Smith’s bond is conditional on his staying away from the Landstown Commons.

As an amateur MMA fighter Smith amassed a record of 6-7. He competed for Spartyka Fight League, American Fight League, and Modern Gladiators Fighting Championships.

Last month, while awaiting trial, Smith had his professional MMA debut at American Fight League 2 event in Virginia Beach. He lost.

Take heed forum members. Masturbation in public is a crime. This message is brought to you by the Landstown flasher.

[GeneChing]

Now we can add Ufc 229 Oct. 6, 2018 Khabib vs Mcgregor to our Busted MMA fighters and fights thread.

OCTOBER 6, 2018 / 10:29 PM / A DAY AGO
Arrests after Nurmagomedov beats McGregor
Philip O'Connor
4 MIN READ

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Chaos erupted after Khabib Nurmagomedov retained his UFC lightweight title with a submission victory over Ireland’s Conor McGregor on Saturday with members of his support team arrested after an all-in brawl broke out after the bout.


Oct 6, 2018; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Khabib Nurmagomedov (red gloves) fights Conor McGregor (blue gloves) during UFC 229 at T-Mobile Arena. Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

The Russian ended McGregor’s attempt to win back the title when he sealed a brutal submission victory with a rear naked choke hold in the fourth round, which then sparked a mass brawl.

Fights broke out in and around the cage, with a red-shirted fan landing several blows on McGregor before security intervened. Both fighters were escorted from the arena by police and security.

UFC boss Dana White later told Fox Sports that three members of Nurmagomedov’s team were arrested.

The fight had been highlighted by bad blood between both camps, with McGregor pleading guilty in July as part of a deal with prosecutors to resolve charges over an April melee in which he attacked a bus the Russian was traveling on.

The situation boiled over after referee Herb Dean waved off the fight, which prompted Nurmagomedov to jump out of the cage and head straight for McGregor’s teammate and corner-man Dillon Danis, prompting a series of violent scuffles.

One man jumped the fence, swinging blows at McGregor before being bundled away by security and there were punches thrown in the crowd as police and security struggled to deal with the angry crowd, most of whom had been backing the Irishman.

White entered the octagon to try to placate Nurmagomedov, who was not presented with the belt, although he was announced as the winner.


Oct 6, 2018; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Khabib Nurmagomedov (red gloves) fights Conor McGregor (blue gloves) during UFC 229 at T-Mobile Arena. Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

The Russian’s fans chanted his name and danced in the street outside the T-Mobile Arena, but rather than the fight bringing to the end the feud, it only poured more fuel on the fire.

WRESTLING STRENGTH

McGregor, making a comeback to the octagon after nearly two years away, had looked dangerous in the early striking exchanges but as expected, Nurmagomedov quickly took the fight to the ground.

The Russian smothered him with his wrestling skills and prevented him from getting back to his feet for the rest of the first round.

The Irishman was then wobbled by an early right cross from the Russian in the second round and the fight was soon on the floor again, but this time the Russian champion was able to keep the challenger from getting his back to the cage.

McGregor survived until the end of the round, giving a tired smile as the horn went, and in the third period he managed to keep the fight standing, tripping off shots to the head and body as he rediscovered his range.

However, it proved to be too little, too late, and Nurmagomedov was once again on top in the fourth, sapping McGregor’s energy with his excruciating pressure before the choke ended the fight 3:03 into the fourth round.

Despite McGregor tapping his arm to indicate his submission, Nurmagomedov seemed to hold on to the winning choke rather than releasing it, encapsulating the bad blood between the pair.

The victory stretched Nurmagomedov’s professional record to 27-0 and handed the Irishman his second defeat in the UFC, both to the same choke hold, before the chaos began.

Editing by Greg Stutchbury

[GeneChing]

This guy...here, here, here & here.

MMA Fighter 'Mayhem' Miller in Trouble With Law Again
By City News Service
Published at 1:57 PM PDT on Oct 23, 2018 | Updated at 2:03 PM PDT on Oct 23, 2018

[IMG]https://media.nbclosangeles.com/images/652*367/2010-mma-fight-jason-mayhem-miller.jpg[/IMG]
Getty Images
Former MMA fighter Jason "Mayhem" Miller in a file photo.

WHAT TO KNOW
Former mixed martial arts fighter Jason "Mayhem" Miller is facing a newly filed felony vandalism charge.

The allegations leave him vulnerable to a state prison term for violating probation if he's convicted.

Miller, 37, was arrested Friday and was being held without bail.

Former mixed martial arts fighter Jason "Mayhem" Miller is facing a newly filed felony vandalism charge, leaving him vulnerable to a state prison term for violating probation if he's convicted.

Arraignment was scheduled Tuesday afternoon for Miller, 37, who was arrested Friday and was being held without bail, according to jail records. It's unclear what Miller is accused of vandalizing, but his attorney said his client faces at least four years in prison if found to have violated the terms of his probation. When Miller resolved a litany of legal troubles last year, prosecutors said he could face up to 21 years in prison if he ran afoul of the law again.

"Jason is a great guy and I love him like a brother," Miller's attorney, Cameron Talley, told City News Service. "It is incredibly sad to see these continued police contacts, but I have faith he can straighten out his life."

Miller accepted a plea bargain from Orange County Superior Court Judge Robert Fitzgerald on April 5, 2017.

MMA Fighter Surrenders After Live-Tweeting Standoff[LA] MMA Fighter Surrenders After Live-Tweeting Standoff
Jason "Mayhem" Miller was taken into police custody after a domestic dispute turned into an hours-long standoff involving SWAT officers, K-9 units and a flurry of bizarre tweets. Mekahlo Medina reports from Mission Viejo for the NBC4 News at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 9, 2014.(Published Thursday, Oct. 9, 2014)

At the time, he said he was committed to clearing probation. "I'm going to fly right," Miller told reporters then. At the time, Miller said his repeated contacts with law enforcement started after he was accused of domestic violence by an ex-girlfriend. Shortly after the allegations surfaced, he lost his job as an analyst on Fox and couldn't get any more fights.

"My entire life turned into a crisis," Miller told reporters last year. Fitzgerald sentenced him to 100 days in jail, but he had already accrued credit for time served and did not have to spend any more time in custody.

Miller was acquitted on Feb. 1, 2017, of beating up the former girlfriend, but other charges involving his conflicts with law enforcement were set aside at the time for a separate trial.

In one conflict with Orange County sheriff's deputies, he was "live- tweeting" the encounter as they tried to serve him with an arrest warrant at his Mission Viejo home in October 2014. In July 2016, he got into an argument with two women, one of whom slapped him, at the Saddle Ranch Chop House in the Triangle Square shopping center in Costa Mesa.

The heavily intoxicated Miller, who grabbed the woman who slapped him by the leg, was detained by a security guard at the restaurant until police arrived, police said. In January 2016, Miller spray-painted graffiti on a wall of a now- shuttered tattoo parlor in Lake Forest. That same month, he cranked up the volume of a stereo in the same tattoo parlor, blowing out the speakers, prosecutors said.

In October 2015, he hurled a ceramic tile at deputies and threatened them with a large fire extinguisher and metal police and had to be subdued with a Taser. In March 2015, he kicked a police officer and spit at another cop at the White House restaurant in Laguna Beach, prosecutors said.

[GeneChing]

]Attorney seeks removal of GPS monitor for MMA fighter accused of raping two women
BY DEANNA BOYD
dboyd@star-telegram.com
October 23, 2018 12:56 PM
Updated October 23, 2018 01:48 PM

FORT WORTH
An attorney for a mixed martial arts fighter indicted last month on accusations that he sexually assaulted two women is asking the judge to remove a requirement that his client wear a GPS monitor, arguing that it interferes with his career.

The mother of one of Abdul Razak Alhassan’s alleged victims told the Star-Telegram on Tuesday that she opposes the request, stating “he obviously should have thought about his career before the nature of the crime.”

She said the tracking device “gave us all a sense of slight sanity in this horrible nightmare — that he couldn’t continue to victimize others or worse, get even.”

Alhassan, 33, was working as a bouncer at the Varsity Tavern at 1005 Norwood St. in March when Saginaw police allege he drove two intoxicated women home from the bar, then raped both women inside one of their homes.

He was charged in the case in April and released from jail on a $20,000 bond. A Tarrant County grand jury indicted Alhassan on two counts of sexual assault on Sept. 24.

The court had previously loosened Abdul Razak Alhassan’s bond conditions — letting him remove his GPS monitor for fights and training but only when outside of Tarrant County — after his defense attorneys filed a motion in May that the device prohibited Alhassan from fighting in matches or even practicing and training for fights.

But on Monday, attorney Brandon Barnett filed a new motion, asking the judge to do away with the GPS monitor bond condition altogether.

“This provision is not reasonable or feasible under the circumstances because defendant’s profession requires that he conduct training, travel, and undergo medical procedures that would interfere with the monitor,” Barnett states in the motion.

The Tarrant County District Attorney’s office declined to comment Tuesday on whether prosecutors will fight the motion.

Alhassan, who is from Ghana, has competed professionally since 2013 and has a black belt in judo, according to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. His last fight was Sept. 8, according the UFC website.


Abdul Razak Alhassan
Tarrant County Sheriff's Office

The woman’s mother, who is not being identified to protect her daughter’s identity, said it’s “unfortunate that we don’t hold everyone to the same standard.”

“Being professional doesn’t negate you were on bond and got to participate in your fight anyway,” she said.

She said her family was contacted by a private investigator “in hopes that we would feel sympathetic towards removing the device” because it interfered with Alhassan’s career and ability to support his family.

“MMA cared more about their stats versus a crime that could have happened to their own?,” she said. “What about the devastation these families involved have to face?”

Officials with the UFC did not immediately return a message seeking comment Tuesday.

The general manager of the Varsity Tavern has said Alhassan quit as bouncer for the bar months ago.

Deanna Boyd: 817-390-7655, @deannaboyd
Abdul “Razak” Alhassan Courtesy/Tarrant County Sheriff's Office

'it interferes with his career'? As a rapist?

[GeneChing]

UFC'S STEPHAN BONNAR ARRESTED FOR DUI
Detained By Gun-Toting Citizens
10/29/2018 1:22 PM PDT


EXCLUSIVE DETAILS

1:22 PM PT -- Cops say Bonnar was speeding down I-15 in a red Cadillac CTS in excess of 90 MPH around 1:15 PM.

Witnesses say he was driving like a maniac. By the time the Highway Patrol responded to the scene, citizens had already surrounded the vehicle and physically restrained Bonnar, who appeared incoherent.

As cops tried to place handcuffs on him, Bonnar woke up and began to resist. With help from the citizens, cops eventually got him cuffed and transported him to a nearby station where he was booked for 3rd-degree felony DUI.

Cops say Bonnar reeked of booze. Medical staff also responded to the scene and determined nothing was medically abnormal, he was just drunk.

UFC Hall of Famer Stephan Bonnar was arrested for DUI on Sunday -- after a group of concerned citizens (one armed with a gun) corralled him after an apparent car crash in Nevada.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... witnesses claim the 41-year-old was driving erratically and feared he would hurt someone.

Somehow, a group of concerned citizens wrangled Bonnar to the ground and kept him at bay until law enforcement arrived.

One he was taken into official custody he was booked for DUI, resisting arrest and unsafe driving. Bail was set at $22,000.

Bonnar is a UFC legend -- he fought Forrest Griffin in the finale of the very first season of "The Ultimate Fighter" back in 2005 -- a fight that's regarded as one of the best and most important in UFC history.

Bonnar lost that fight, but got a UFC contract out of the deal and went on to have a pretty solid career -- fighting guys like Anderson Silva and Jon Jones.

Originally Published -- 10/29/2018 11:38 AM PDT

Is it wrong to be amused by the gun-toting citizen's arrest?

[GeneChing]

[GeneChing]

Busted MMA husband.

UFC'S RACHAEL OSTOVICH HUSBAND ARRESTED FOR ATTEMPTED MURDER
After Allegedly Beating Wife
11/20/2018 11:27 PM PST



UFC fighter Rachael Ostovich's MMA fighter husband has been arrested for ATTEMPTED MURDER days after allegedly breaking his wife's face ... and he's still behind bars in a Honolulu jail.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Ostovich -- who had to pull out of her scheduled January fight with Paige VanZant -- was hospitalized this weekend with serious injuries -- including a broken orbital bone -- after her husband allegedly assaulted her during an argument at their home.

Cops in Honolulu opened a domestic violence investigation earlier this week ... and now police officials tell us 27-year-old Arnold Berdon -- Ostovich's husband and father of her child -- was arrested Tuesday evening on suspicion of 2nd degree attempted murder.

Berdon -- a fighter himself who holds a 7-2 record -- is still in custody at the Honolulu PD main station.

He has not yet appeared before a judge ... where bail could be set.

If he is released ... Rachael's husband won't be allowed to contact Ostovich -- 'cause she got a restraining order ... barring contact.

For his part ... a family member of Arnold told us he intends to vigorously dispute in court any allegations he assaulted his wife.

If convicted, Berdon could face life in prison with the possibility of parole.

[GeneChing]

MMA fighter gets 18-year prison sentence after killing weightlifter in bare-knuckle brawl
AN MMA fighter has been sentenced to 18 years in prison after his kick in a street brawl killed a professional weightlifter.
By Emmet McGonagle / Published 20th December 2018

Last August, a manhunt began for MMA fighter Anar Allakhveranov, 26, after he killed 32-year-old professional weightlifter Andrey Drachev in a violent street brawl.

In the video – which took place in Khabarovsk, Russia – a topless Allakhveranov (left) and Andrey (right) can be seen standing head to head in the cobbled pavement as a crowd of men watch on.

Suddenly, Allakhveranov lunges forward and a quick kick to is muscular opponent as he moves back.

But things take a sinister turn as the MMA fighter’s roundhouse kick connects with the champion power lifter’s head, sending him plummeting towards the ground.

Allakhveranov lands another kick as the injured bodybuilder tries to stand up, knocking him on his back.

Once down, the MMA fighter punches his motionless rival repeatedly in the face before onlookers pull him away from Andrey’s lifeless body.

Daily Star Online has chosen not to show footage of Allakhveranov’s fatal blow.

After a manhunt ensued, Allakhveranov eventually handed himself into the police.


KILLER KICK: An MMA fighter squares up to a body builder (Pic: CEN)
Thai fighter KNOCKS OUT opponent and referee with head kick
Play Video

The resulting trial lasted longer than a year, with defence lawyers wanting to qualify the case as a “negligent homicide”.

Earlier today (December 20), Allakhveranov was found guilty of homicide and sentenced to 18 years in prison.

Speaking of the attack, he apologised to the Drachev family and admitted he wishes he “could turn back time”.

He said: “I want to apologise to Andrey's family and parents for my actions that caused so much pain.

“I did not want this and did not plan it as the investigators allege.

“I know what it is like to lose someone close, and I understand how Andrey's parents must feel.”

18 years for 'negligence'.

[GeneChing]

More on Rachael Ostovich

Husband of UFC fighter Rachael Ostovich pleads not guilty to assaulting wife
By Rosemarie Bernardo December 20, 2018 Updated December 20, 2018 11:25am


ROSEMARIE BERNARDO / RBERNARDO@STARADVERTISER.COM

Arnold Berdon III, left, appeared at his arraignment Thursday morning before Circuit Judge Colette Garibaldi after an Oahu grand jury recently returned an indictment, charging him with second-degree assault involving mixed martial arts fighter, Rachael Ostovich, 27. Berdon’s attorney, Myles Breiner, right, entered a not guilty plea to the charge.

A 27-year-old mixed martial arts fighter pleaded not guilty in Circuit Court today to an assault charge involving his wife.

Arnold Berdon III appeared at his arraignment before Circuit Judge Colette Garibaldi after an Oahu grand jury recently returned an indictment, charging him with second-degree assault involving UFC mixed martial arts fighter, Rachael Ostovich, 27.

Berdon’s attorney, Myles Breiner, entered a not guilty plea to the charge.

Garibaldi set his trial for February.

Berdon remains free after posting $75,000 bail.

Second-degree assault is a class C felony that is punishable by up to five years in prison.

The alleged assault occurred at a home in Makaha during the early morning hours of Nov. 18. In court documents, Ostovich claimed Berdon repeatedly punched her in the head, face and ribs.

Ostovich sustained a fracture to the orbital bone around the eye socket and fled the home through a balcony.

She filed a temporary restraining order against her husband the next day.

Berdon turned himself in at the Honolulu Police Department’s Alapai headquarters on Nov. 20.

Ostovich filed for divorce on Tuesday. They have a daughter together.

[GeneChing]

Orange County private school that hired felon as MMA coach is reinstated in voucher programs


An Orange County private school will be allowed to continue receiving state-backed scholarships after terminating a man convicted of manslaughter it had hired to teach mixed martial arts fighting to students. (Leslie Postal/Orlando Sentinel)

Annie Martin
Orlando Sentinel

An Orange County private school will be allowed to continue receiving state-backed scholarships after terminating a man convicted of manslaughter it had hired to teach mixed martial arts fighting to students.

The state Department of Education booted Elite Preparatory Academy from the scholarship programs in November in response to a tip from a parent who questioned how Ruben Saldaña could work at the Oak Ridge Road campus without having passed a criminal background check required for employees who work at schools that take state scholarships, often called vouchers.

Principal Hong Steele wrote that Elite terminated Saldaña on Nov. 5 in a letter to the department. She also signed a settlement agreement with the department that said, among other things, she won’t employ anyone who can’t pass the state-mandated background check.

That agreement, which will allow Elite to continue to receive scholarship money, also says education department employees may conduct previously announced or unannounced site visits, in which they can review “any and all” documents in the school’s possession.

Steele couldn’t be reached for comment Thursday, but Saldaña said by phone he’s moved his after-school program from Elite’s campus to another venue.

“We decided that I’m not going to work there, even though we were not doing anything illegal,” he said.

But employees at private schools that take state scholarships must pass criminal background checks, and manslaughter is among the disqualifying offenses.

Steele and Saldaña say he only worked there after school hours, but the complaint from the parent alleged he was on campus during the day. In a letter sent to the school Nov. 2, the education department accused Elite of lying about Saldaña’s role at the school, an act of fraud it thought was intended to keep its students eligible for the state’s scholarship programs.

Saldaña is a former gang leader who was convicted in Orange County Circuit Court in 1999 for helping to organize what police called a “gang hit” that left two men shot to death in a car. After his conviction, Saldaña served nearly 14 years in prison, according to the state Department of Corrections.

Prior to the parent’s complaint, Elite was already facing heightened scrutiny after a 4-year-old preschool student died in a hot car in the school’s parking lot Sept. 28. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office is still investigating the boy’s death. Steele addressed the boy’s death in her letter to the education department, describing it as an accident “the school had no involvement in.”

Most of Elite’s 300 students use state scholarships for children from low-income families, as well as those with disabilities, to pay tuition. This school year, the school serves about 230 scholarship students and has received more than $444,000 from those programs, according to records from the education department and Step Up for Students, the organization that administers two of the scholarship programs.


Ruben Saldana was convicted of manslaughter in Orange County in 1999 and served nearly 14 years in prison, records show. (Provided by the Florida Department of Corrections)

The parent’s complaint claimed school had not been upfront about Saldaña’s history “in a big gang in Miami,” but Saldaña said fliers provided to parents about the mixed martial arts program included information about his record. News of the education department’s action against the school didn't, he said, dissuade any parents from allowing their children to continue training with him.

“My work with the kids will never stop,” he said.

The education department also said in November it was revoking Elite’s scholarships eligibility because the school had failed to turn in test scores from a national exam for its tax-credit scholarship students who attended during the 2017-18 school year, as state law requires. But in a letter to the department, Steele said she submitted the scores and received confirmation that they were received, except for those belonging to one student. That child’s scores, she wrote, were “immediately sent over.”

anmartin@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5120

I was going to say as my minimum-characters comment 'How OC' but then I realized this was FL OC not Cali OC.

[GeneChing]

Would Gotti Jr.'s character witness testimony really help your case?

Former mob boss John Gotti Jr. shows support for accused mixed martial arts fighter on trial for bank robbery
Noah Goldberg, Graham Rayman 1 day ago


© Andrew H. Walker / Getty Images
Former mobster John Gotti Jr. showed up Tuesday in a Queens courtroom to support a mixed martial arts fighter on trial for bank robbery.

Sporting a white-and-black Adidas tracksuit with matching white Adidas shoes, Gotti Jr. said his son John Gotti III trained with the accused fighter Sergio da Silva.

"My son's an MMA fighter. Sergio is an MMA fighter. I believe the kid is innocent," Gotti Jr. told reporters.

Gotti Jr.'s son, John Gotti III, 26, is preparing for an April fight, Gotti Jr. said.

Da Silva is on trial for the Aug. 24 robbery of a Citibank in Astoria in which he allegedly said he had a gun and threatened to shoot a teller if they didn’t turn over cash. He fled with about $50,000 in cash. The jury started deliberations Tuesday.

Da Silva may have a chance at acquittal or a hung jury. The jurors sent out a note just a few hours into their deliberations Tuesday saying they had reached an impasse. "We could not come to a unanimous decision," jurors said.

Judge Leslie Leach ordered the jurors to keep deliberating. "They haven't even deliberated a day yet," Leach said.

Gotti Jr. called da Silva a "magnificent father” who brings his son to the gym on a regular basis.

"I've fought cases in this courthouse,” Gotti Jr. said. “My first trial was in this building in 1987. I was acquitted in an assault case."

Gotti Jr. has said in recent interviews that he left the gangster life years ago. On Tuesday, he said he is currently "working on projects, writing, keeping busy, managing real estate."

[GeneChing]

Would Gotti Jr.'s character witness testimony really help your case?

Didn't think so...

Mixed martial arts fighter Sergio Da Silva convicted of robbery for holding up Queens bank
By NOAH GOLDBERG
| NEW YORK DAILY NEWS |
JAN 17, 2019 | 3:45 PM


John Gotti Jr., hugs Sergio "The Savage" Da Silva, who is on trial for bank robbery, on Tuesday. (Jesse Ward / for New York Daily News)

Mixed martial arts fighter Sergio Da Silva was convicted of robbery Thursday for holding up a Queens bank.

Sergio Da Silva, 32, was on trial for the Aug. 24, 2017, robbery in which he allegedly said he had a gun and threatened to shoot a bank teller before making off with $46,000.

The brawler jumped onto the counter of his local Citibank on Steinway St. near 28thAve. in Astoria with a black bandana wrapped around his face and demanded cash, prosecutors said during the trial.

Jurors deliberated for four days and found Da Silva guilty of third-degree robbery - but let him off the hook for first-degree robbery, a charge hinging on Da Silva having a gun during the crime.

“Yes!” a family member of Da Silva whispered when the jury announced he was innocent of the higher charge.

Moments later though, Da Silva’s family, including his son Sergio Da Silva, 8, who testified for the defense, burst into tears and dabbed at their eyes with tissues when the MMA fighter was pronounced guilty of the lesser charge.

Asked on his way out of court if the jury got the verdict right, an irritated Da Silva responded, “No they did not. I wouldn’t be fighting this hard if they did. I’m living to fight another day.”

Just hours into deliberations Tuesday, jurors sent Judge Leach a note saying they could not reach a verdict.

"We could not come to a unanimous decision," jurors wrote. Judge Leach implored them to continue deliberating.

Though each of the 12 jurors eventually agreed on the verdict, one male alternate juror shook his head continuously as Da Silva’s fate was revealed Thursday.

All the jurors declined to comment as they left Queens Supreme Court.

Da Silva faces up to seven years in prison on the third-degree robbery rap. If he had been convicted of first degree robbery he would have faced up to 25 years.

The MMA fighter had a powerful ally in his corner. Ex-mob head John Gotti Jr. showed up on the second day of jury deliberations in an Adidas track suit to lend support to the brawler, who trains with Gotti’s fighter son.

Gotti Jr. called da Silva a "magnificent father” who brings his son to the gym on a regular basis. “I believe the kid is innocent," Gotti Jr. told reporters

Da Silva tweeted just minutes before his verdict. “Thank you for all the support to those who always believed in me. If justice is served I will be not guilty”

Judge Leslie Leach will sentence Da Silva Feb. 28.


Sergio "The Savage" Da Silva at Queens Supreme Court. (Jesse Ward / for New York Daily News)

[GeneChing]

Such irony in an MMA guy who choked his friend to death is named 'Gryp'.

Man accused in martial arts fighting death in Mercersburg calls to exclude confession
By Jennifer Fitch waynesboro@herald-mail.com Jan 28, 2019 Updated 15 hrs ago



CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. — A man accused of killing his friend during a night of drinking and horseplay wants jurors to not hear his police interview.

Kevin H. Gryp, 28, was charged with criminal homicide in the June 15 death of 27-year-old Donald D. Clark Jr., whom Gryp told investigators was his best friend of 10 years.

Gryp claimed the two were mixed-martial-arts fighting in a Mercersburg, Pa.-area home when Clark went unconscious in a chokehold.

Franklin County (Pa.) Court of Common Pleas Judge Jeremiah Zook heard arguments Monday on whether Gryp knowingly waived his Miranda rights during a police interview.

Sarah Ikena, Gryp's public defender, claimed her client was too inebriated to waive the rights and give voluntary statements. An assistant district attorney presented video recordings that he said show Gryp responding to questions as would be expected.

Some of the discussion in court involved how some people have a greater tolerance for alcohol.

"I don't equate blood-alcohol content with intoxication," Zook said.

Zook didn't yet rule on whether the police interview will be admissible at trial.

A breathalyzer test recorded Gryp's blood-alcohol content at 0.212 percent at about midnight. That level is nearly three times the legal limit of 0.08 percent in Pennsylvania. At about 5 a.m. June 16, a blood test recorded Gryp's blood-alcohol level at between 0.16 percent and 0.17 percent.

Clark was found dead on the floor of the garage when police arrived at 7570 Robinson Road in Montgomery Township, Pa. Gryp called 911 just before midnight that night and said he just killed his “brother.”

A coroner found Clark died of blunt-force trauma to the neck.

In the police interview, Gryp said the two were lifting weights at about 5 p.m. as they started their evening together. He said he is an alcoholic who gets "level" when he drinks and more resembles a sober person.

"I'm not OK when I'm sober," he said in the police interview recording.

Trooper Charles Christopher testified there was an "overwhelming smell" of gasoline in the house when he arrived. He said Gryp later changed out of clothes that reeked of gasoline.

"I gave him instructions to get out of the (kitchen) chair and get on the ground. Once he was on the ground, I put him in handcuffs," Christopher testified Monday.


Jennifer Fitch
Jennifer Fitch has covered Franklin and Fulton counties in Pennsylvania for Herald-Mail Media for more than 10 years. Follow her reporting on Twitter at @HMinPA. She can be reached by email at waynesboro@herald-mail.com.

[GeneChing]

This story has the makings of a movie or a documentary.

An MMA fighter suspected of killing 2 people was recaptured after escaping from a prisoner transport van in Texas
Associated Press 22m


In this photo provided by the Kent County Michigan Sheriff's office, Cedric Marks is pictured in a booking photo in Grand Rapids, Mich., dated Jan. 8, 2019. Kent County Michigan Sheriff's Office via Associated Press

An MMA fighter suspected of killing two people was captured on Sunday after escaping a prisoner transport van.
Cedric Marks was recaptured after a nine-hour manhunt, authorities said.

He is suspected of killing an ex-girlfriend, Jenna Scott, and a friend of hers, Michael Swearingin.

Both disappeared on January 4 and were found buried in a shallow grave in Clearview, Oklahoma, on January 15.

CONROE, Texas (AP) — An MMA fighter suspected of killing two people, including an ex-girlfriend, was captured Sunday after escaping from a prisoner transport van in Texas, authorities said.

Cedric Marks was taken into custody after a nine-hour manhunt involving multiple law enforcement agencies, Montgomery County sheriff's Lt. Scott Spencer said in a tweet Sunday evening.

Marks escaped from the private prison transport van during a stop at a McDonald's in Conroe about 40 miles (65 kilometers) north of Houston, Conroe police Lt. Dorcy McGinnis said during a news conference earlier Sunday.

McGinnis said murder warrants were issued Sunday for Marks in last month's killings of an ex-girlfriend, Jenna Scott, and a friend of hers, Michael Swearingin, who disappeared Jan. 4 and were found buried in a shallow grave in Clearview, Oklahoma, on Jan. 15.

Marks was arrested in Michigan last month on a Bell County, Texas, charge alleging that on Aug. 21, he broke into Scott's home in Temple, which is about 60 miles (100 kilometers) north of Austin. Authorities say he escaped while being transferred to Bell County to face that charge.

Scott requested a protective order against Marks last July, accusing him of choking her unconscious twice, Temple television station KCEN reported.

"Each time he allowed me to regain consciousness and then he choked me out again," Scott said in an affidavit.

The protective order request was denied.

She also reported to police that Marks had broken into her home in August while her daughter, who was 9, was there. She said he took her cellphone to prevent her from calling 911.

The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office's initial tweet about Sunday's escape said Marks was facing three "pending murder charges," but it didn't immediately respond to requests for further information about those charges.

Police in Bloomington, Minnesota, say Marks remains a person of interest in the 2009 disappearance of April Pease, who was the mother of one of his children. The two were involved in a fierce custody dispute in Washington state and Pease, who had a drug problem, went to live in a Bloomington women's shelter because she said she was afraid of Marks. Like Scott, Pease alleged that Marks had choked her unconscious on more than one occasion, according to a court custody investigator. Pease went missing in March 2009 and Marks got custody of their son.

Pease's mother, Dottie Pease, told KCEN last month that she had believed her daughter might have had a drug relapse, but that given the developments in Texas, she thought it was possible that Marks might have had something to do with her daughter's disappearance.

Two women were arrested in Michigan on charges related to Marks.

Maya Maxwell is charged with evidence tampering and is jailed in Bell County, Texas, on $150,000 bond. According to an arrest affidavit, she told detectives that she drove Swearingin's vehicle to Austin in an attempt to hide it from investigators. It was found abandoned in the city Jan. 6.

Ginell McDonough, who is Marks' wife and the mother of two of his two children, is jailed in Muskegon County, Michigan, on an obstruction of justice charge. She is accused of allowing Marks and Maxwell to stay in her home between Jan. 5 and Jan. 9.

Jail records do not list an attorney for either woman.

Marks compiled a record of 31-28-0 during his professional MMA career, which began in 1999, according to mixedmartialarts.com . His last fight was in September.

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This story has been corrected to show that Spencer is with the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office instead of Conroe police, and to show in several references that the suspect's last name is Marks instead of Crews.

[GeneChing]

30-man brawl breaks out after bizarre finish to MMA fight
By Dave Fraser, The Sun February 7, 2019 | 10:15am



A 30-man brawl broke out in an MMA fight after the referee failed to spot one fighter’s team throwing the towel in.

Felix Schifffahrt (5-0) was being brutally pummeled by opponent Omer Solmaz (7-1-0) at GMC 18 in Germany.

Schifffahrt had suffered enough and his corner opted to wave the white flag and literally chucked a towel into the cage.

But the ref failed to spot it after the white towel landed on the back of their fighter’s calf, which can be seen at the 2:45 mark of the video above.

Instantly realizing the referee had missed the concession, the team leaped over the walls of the cage and tackled Solmaz — and the ref — to help Schifffahrt.

That’s when all hell broke loose as Solmaz’s team also jumped in to protect their guy, having possibly also missed the towel being thrown in.

At one stage, there were nearly 30 bodies in the ring pushing and shoving each other.

The huge melee went on for another minute before calm was restored and Solmaz was declared the winner.

This audience got their money's worth.