UFC Fighter Desmond Green Hit With 20 Criminal Charges, Including Manslaughter And DUI
Brutal both in and out of the ring.
getty He's been hit with more than 20 different charges, including DUI and manslaughter. Now, instead of being known for his work inside the ring, he'll forever be known for his brutality outside the ring. Who is Desmond Green?
MMA fighters are nothing but a big old mess. Here’s what we know about the latest disaster.
1. The crash happened near Fort Lauderdale
According to WHEC, Desmond Green was careening down Interstate 75 in Pembroke Pines — near Fort Lauderdale, FL — when he lost control of his car.
“According to the Florida Highway Patrol, last August, the former Rush-Henrietta High School graduate lost control of his vehicle, swerved in the path of an oncoming tractor-trailer and caused a chain reaction with three other vehicles,” the outlet reported, adding that the police also found a bag of cocaine in his car, and that he remains in jail in Florida.
2. Desmond Green’s bail is extremely high because he faces a series of charges
According to the official court documents filed after the crash, a warrant was issued on June 19th for Desmond Green’s arrest. He was picked up shortly thereafter, but he faces a series of charges: two second-degree felony counts of DUI manslaughter; four third-degree felony counts of DUI causing serious bodily injury; third-degree felony possession of cocaine; five misdemeanor counts of DUI property damage; and third-degree felony driving with a suspended license. All told, his bail was set at $194,000. Yikes!
That said, his surety bond is currently pending, so there’s that.
3. The crash ended up killing two people
The crash itself was bad enough, according to the New York Post, but what made it worse is, he ended up killing three people in the process.
“On August 18, 2018, Green’s 2011 Dodge Durango hit a trailer truck in the next lane. That caused another vehicle to hit a guard rail and flip over in a chain reaction that killed Emelina Morfa and Emma Suarez Hernandez. Green had only minor injuries. Just two weeks before the accident, he was reportedly convicted for driving with a suspended license,” they reported, adding that even though he fought in three UFC fights since the crash, his future with the organization is uncertain.
4. Desmond Green’s personal attorney disputes the charges
According to USA Today, Jaime Benjamin — who is representing Desmond Green — not only disputes the charges filed against his client, he likens Green’s role in the accident to little more than the equivalent of a traffic ticket.
“There isn’t, at this point, any proof that it was his fault, any proof that he was under the influence. And if those two things can’t be proven, they can charge 1,000 counts, but that doesn’t mean he’s guilty of anything. You would think, ‘Oh, well, he’s into cocaine.’ Well, if there’s a bag of cocaine in the car, wouldn’t there be cocaine in his system if he knew anything about it and it was his? It’s another allegation that there was a little, tiny package of cocaine they allege to have found somewhere in the seats of the car. This big splash of an arrest is what it is. It’s nothing more than an allegation, like a traffic ticket. He’s not guilty of anything until, and if, a jury finds him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt,” he said, according to the outlet.
We will definitely keep you apprised of all the developments as they come up.
Bernadette Giacomazzo is an editor, writer, and photographer whose work has appeared in People, Teen Vogue, Us Weekly, The Source, XXL, HipHopDX, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, and more. She is also the author of The Uprising series. For more information about Bernadette Giacomazzo, click here.