Jeremy Stephens – Image via Evolution Agents Facebook page
Management for UFC lightweight Jeremy ‘Lil Heathen’ Stephens (20-8), Evolution Agent, released a statement in support of their fighter in regard to last Friday’s arrest by Police in Minneapolis.
Stephens was in Minneapolis, Minnesota to face Yves Edwards on the preliminary card of UFC on FX 5 but was arrested the morning of the event at his hotel by local police. ‘Lil Heathen’ faces two charges of assault stemming from an incident dating back to 2011 in De Moines, Iowa.
The 26-year-old fighter remains in jail, and despite UFC president Dana White’s best efforts to cut a deal in order to grant Stephens bail in order fight so he could earn a paycheck, authorities in were reportedly difficult to deal with as they kept changing the parameters of the deal to the increasing frustration of White.
“I cut the deal with people down in Des Moines, Iowa, to get him out. I accept that deal too. They changed the deal. Every time I accepted the deal, they kept trying to make it harder and harder and harder. You know me, especially after I tweeted the media to shut up, I was devising a plan to break him out and get him over here to come out and do this fight. So, they finally made this deal for an astronomical amount of money to make the deal, and I agreed to it, and then they did it again. So they’re going to stick it to this kid big time when he gets to Iowa.”
On Monday, Evolution Agents released this statement on Facebook, shedding some more light on the situation.
In response to the recent arrest and allegations regarding Jeremy Stephens we would like to take this opportunity to reach
out to his supporters and clarify some of the information that has been circulating in the media.In 2011, Jeremy was attending a homecoming party in Des Moines, Iowa. A person in attendance became intoxicated and disorderly, and was asked to leave by the owner of the establishment. The intoxicated individual subsequently became involved in a physical altercation with another person at the event. We have learned that, as the featured guest at the party, Jeremy’s name came up during the police investigation of the assault.
Prior to being detained the morning of October 5, 2012, in Minneapolis, Jeremy had never been arrested in connection with the assault, contacted about any possible charge and or notified about any outstanding warrant by mail or any other means. Jeremy has lived at the same residence in San Diego and has maintained the same phone number for the past year or more. Jeremy also uses social media to provide updates on his training, and to thank fans, supporters, sponsors, and the UFC. In short, Jeremy is not a hard guy to find, which can be seen at www.LilHeathenMMA.com.
At this time, we do not know why Polk County (Iowa) authorities waited to have a warrant served on Jeremy until the morning of his fight. He arrived in Minnesota four days earlier, stayed at the hotel with other fighters for the event, and attended the public weigh-in on Thursday afternoon. Because he was arrested so close to the time of the fight, arrangements for his release could not be made in time for him to compete despite the diligent efforts of the UFC. Minnesota state officials were great to deal with, but Polk County kept changing the deal making it impossible to get Jeremy released.
It will take some time for this unfortunate situation to be resolved. We ask that everyone be patient and wait for the truth to come out. We also would like to thank Jeremy’s fans who are standing by him during this tough time and especially Dana White and the staff at UFC for their incredible display of support for Jeremy throughout the ordeal.
There is nothing to hide, so we will keep everyone updated as things progress. For any questions or concerns, you can contact management at the following;
www.EvoAgents.com