Mixed Marital Arts heavyweight fighter Brett Charles Rogers was arrested again Monday morning in Apple Valley after authorities say he violated terms of his pre-sentencing release.
Brett Charles Rogers, the mixed martial arts heavyweight fighter from Apple Valley who pleaded guilty last month to assaulting his wife in June, was arrested this morning on an outstanding warrant.
Rogers, 30, pleaded guilty in September to felony third-degree assault after a late June incident in which Rogers’ wife suffered injuries to her face, ear, neck and back and lost a tooth.
A warrant for Rogers’ arrest was issued Sept. 30 after he failed to comply with conditions of his pre-sentence release. He was arrested at 6 a.m. Monday.
He was scheduled to make a first appearance following his latest arrest Monday morning in Dakota County District Court in Hastings.
It was the third warrant issued for Rogers since he was initially arrested in June. The first warrant, issued in mid-September, was revoked after it turned out to be the result of scheduling confusion among court officials; a second warrant was issued several weeks later after authorities said Rogers violated a protection order against his wife.
Rogers’ wife told authorities in June that the assault was her fault and reportedly refused to testify against him. She told police that she didn’t want him charged with assault, because she didn’t want to “cause him trouble” with his job, according to the criminal complaint.
After he was charged, Rogers’ contract with Strikeforce—a mixed martial arts and kickboxing organization that televises events and competitions on CBS and Showtime—was terminated. However, it was announced in early September that Rogers was set to return to the sport, and he told 5thRound.com he was “confident” that the charges would be dropped.
Rogers—who weighs 258 pounds and was ranked among the top 10 Mixed Martial Arts heavyweights in the country—lost to Eddie Sanchez on Sept. 23 in his fighting comeback in the Titan Fighting Championship.
As part of the plea agreement with prosecutors to which Rogers agreed last month, charges of domestic assault by strangulation, harassment and endangering a child will be dropped when Rogers is sentenced.
Rogers’ sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 30. He faces a maximum penalty on the assault conviction of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
• By Betsy Sundquist
http://applevalley.patch.com/articles/mma-fighter-rogers-arrested-again-in-apple-valley-on-warrant