Probation was revoked Tuesday on a prior felony conviction against former mixed martial arts fighter War Machine, who awaits trial on separate charges that could get him life in prison without parole for allegedly trying to kill his porn actress ex-girlfriend and her friend in the woman’s Las Vegas home.
Jonathan Paul Koppenhaver, also known as War Machine, appears in court for a preliminary hearing Friday, Nov. 14, 2014, in Las Vegas. Koppenhaver is accused of assaulting his former girlfriend Christine Mackinday, also known as Christy Mack.
Jonathan Paul Koppenhaver’s lawyer, Brandon Sua, said Tuesday that Koppenhaver doesn’t dispute leaving Nevada without permission in August. He was sought at the time by police after ex-girlfriend Christy Mack reported she had been attacked, and he was arrested Aug. 15 at a hotel in the Los Angeles suburb of Simi Valley.
Koppenhaver, 33, faces trial Feb. 17 in that case, after pleading not guilty last month to 34 felony charges including attempted murder, kidnapping, sexual assault, attempted sexual assault, battery, strangulation and coercion.
Clark County District Court Judge Valerie Adair on Tuesday invoked a 1 1/2 -to-4 year sentence she suspended in February 2012 when granting Koppenhaver probation following his guilty plea to felony attempted battery causing substantial bodily harm. The judge also ordered Koppenhaver at the time to undergo anger management and substance-abuse counseling and submit to steroid testing.
Sua said the prison sentence had no immediate practical effect because his client already is being held without bail in isolation at the Clark County jail.
Jailers reported in October that Koppenhaver apparently tried to kill himself in his Las Vegas by tying a piece of cloth around his neck and attaching it to a bunk bed. Jail officials said they also found a suicide note in his jail cell.
Mack, 23, whose legal name is Christine Mackinday, testified at a preliminary hearing that she was left with a broken nose, missing teeth, fractured eye socket, leg injuries and a lacerated liver in the Aug. 8 attack.
Mack told a judge that Koppenhaver kicked and beat her and cut her hair with a dull knife in a bathroom before she ran naked and bleeding to neighbors’ homes for help. She said she escaped when she thought Koppenhaver was fetching a kitchen knife to kill her.
The Associated Press usually doesn’t identify alleged victims of sexual assault, but Mack agreed to let her name be made public.
Her friend, Corey Thomas, testified that Koppenhaver broke his nose and dislocated his shoulder before allowing him to leave Mack’s house with a warning that if he went to the police, Koppenhaver would hurt him.
Koppenhaver changed his name after making his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut in 2007. He had a 14-5 record as a welterweight before being dropped by his fight promoter, Bellator MMA, after Mack’s accusations became public.
Leave a Comment