(Video courtesy of Zombie Prophet)
Two months after his arrest following a domestic disturbance in his home, Brett Rogers is ready to face the public. On last night’s episode of Inside MMA, “The Grim” sat down with Ron Kruck to discuss the case and announce his upcoming bout. Rogers will step into a Dakota County District Court on September 13th to face felony charges of third degree assault, terroristic threats, and harassment and stalking. The now-happy couple seems ready to move on with their lives.
Brett Rogers: “I was told not to go in to details. The situation that occurred, it happened, and it was more of a misunderstanding when I look at it. The papers can write whatever [ed. note: Awesome! Thanks, Brett]. But we still are going through the legal process.”
Tiuana Rogers: “We’d just rather move forward and be positive.”
In keeping with the ‘staying positive’ them, Rogers’ attorney likes their chances as they head into court:
“The state is going to have some significant proof issues. The alleged victim is Brett’s wife. And this is a family that has been together for a long time. They love each other, and Mrs. Rogers at this point, appears not to be willing to testify against Brett.”
While they may not have the benefit of Tiuana Rogers taking the stand, prosecutors do have other witnesses to the crime. From the criminal complaint:
A neighbor reported that he had looked out his residence window and saw Rogers standing over T.R. [Brett’s wife] and punching her multiple times in the head and face as she lay on the ground. Another neighbor stated he saw T.R. with blood streaming from her face and mouth and what looked like a missing tooth.
At the time of the incident, “The Grim” admitted that he had been drinking and told police that his wife had struck him first, and that he’d merely responded in kind. Mrs. Rogers may be unwilling to testify now, but she did speak with authorities on the evening of the alleged assault:
T.R. advised that she and her husband had been arguing that night. He became angry and grabbed her with both hands around her neck and squeezed. She was able to get away and went into the back yard. Her husband followed her and got her on the ground and began hitting her about her head and face, causing her to “black out.”
At the time, Tiuana made it clear that she did not want to file charges as she feared it would have a negative effect on her husband’s employement. She was right. But the Rogers family is looking to move on with their lives, and Brett has already signed on with another organization. His next bout will go down on September 24th under the Titan FC banner. His opponent at Titan Fighting Championships 20 will be former UFC heavyweight Eddie Sanchez. After dropping three of his last four fights to the murderer’s row of Fedor-Alistair-Barnett, a fight against a journeyman like Sanchez sounds about right. Also featured on the card will be a headline bout between Jamie Varner and Alonzo Martinez. The event will be broadcast live on HDNet.
With his trial date set just eleven days prior to the bout, it looks like everyone here is banking that Brett will be found innocent, have an extremely short sentence, or simply not be carted off directly to jail should he be convicted of any of the felony charges facing him.