Sponsored message
Logged in as
Audience-funded nonprofit news
radio tower icon laist logo
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Subscribe
  • Listen Now Playing Listen

This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

News

MMA Fighter 'War Machine' Captured After Being On The Run After Ex-Girlfriend's Brutal Beating [Graphic]

One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.

A mixed-martial arts fighter who was accused of brutally beating his ex-girlfriend so badly that she was hospitalized, was arrested today in Simi Valley.Authorities have been searching for Jonathan “War Machine” Koppenhaver after Las Vegas Police issued an arrest warrant for him last week, charging him with several counts of battery, assault with a deadly weapon, and other crimes, according to KTLA.

The Simi Valley Police Department found Koppenhaver around 1:45 p.m. at the Extended Stay America Hotel located at 2498 Stearns Street with a small amount of cash and pizza in the room.

His ex-girlfriend, adult film star Christy Mack said she suffered from 18 broken bones and a ruptured liver, and couldn't walk.

Earlier this week, she posted on Twitter shocking photos of her badly beaten and bruised in a hospital bed. She offered up a statement of the disturbing events that unfolded the night he allegedly assaulted her and a friend at her Las Vegas home around 2 a.m. on August 8:

Mack said she and Koppenhaver had broken up in May. Koppenhaver tweeted about his side of the story:

Sponsored message

A person had tweeted to Koppenhaver insinuating that Koppenhaver and Mack had already broken up, to which he responded:

This isn't the first time that Mack has accused Koppenhaver of abusing her. Fox Sports reported that she tweeted back in November: "He full on beat the s*** out of me, couldn't show my face in public beating." However, she later deleted the tweet after he said online that it was a joke. Just a month later, she tweeted that she had stayed with him despite "several slapping, choking unconscious, smothering, kicking and throwings."

Koppenhaver has had a history of violence. He was convicted of assault stemming from a brawl at a San Diego bar in 2010. He also pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of domestic violence and battery in Las Vegas from 2009.

Reality TV star Duane "Dog the Bounty Hunter" Chapman vowed to catch Koppenahver.

Sponsored message

Koppenhaver has been taken to the Ventura County Jail.

One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.

You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.

If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief

Make your tax-deductible donation today