Former MMA Fighter Facing More Charges
Garrett Joe Swanson, 29, was supposed to appear in court last Thursday for a pre-trial conference hearing but instead, his attorney filed for a continuance. On Friday, Swanson was hit with six additional felony charges, this time for forgery and theft stemming from his former job at the Auto Park in Warsaw.
The three class C felony counts of forgery and three class D felony counts of theft came from refund and referral checks Swanson allegedly cashed himself instead of sending to Auto Park customers.
The charges allege that between April 24 and 27, Swanson forged the names of customers on a total of six checks and cashed them himself. One of the checks was for a $1,500 refund. The remaining checks totaled $100 each and were supposed to be mailed to customers who provided referrals to the company. The indiscretions were reportedly discovered by the car dealership’s manager.
Swanson was arrested on the new charges on Friday and booked into the Kosciusko County Jail on a $5,000 bond.
If convicted of the theft and forgery charges, Swanson could spend up to 36 years in prison.
Swanson was first arrested on May 18 after allegedly punching a fellow patron of Rex’s Rendezvous causing serious head and facial injuries. Because of his mixed martial arts background, Kosciusko County Prosecutor Dan Hampton filed a class B felony charge of aggravated battery against Swanson. His next hearing on that case is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 30.