Man pleads guilty to manslaughter of former UFC fighter Ryan Jimmo
Anthony Getschel entered a guilty plea today in the death of former UFC fighter Ryan Jimmo. The proceedings took place Monday at the Court of Queen’s Bench in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Getschel’s admission to charges of manslaughter and failure to remain at the scene of a fatal collission.
Jimmo was killed two years ago when according to police, the then 34-year-old fighter was involved in an early morning incident in the parking lot of Edmonton’s H2O Lounge. Jimmo was reportedly walking away from the altercation when the men he was speaking to — two Caucasian males in a dark-colored pickup truck — accelerated and struck him.
The two men had been drinking according to court reports.
Bystanders called 911 and flagged down a police vehicle. Jimmo was transported to an area hospital but died at 2:44 a.m. on June 26, 2016 from injuries sustained during the hit-and-run.
Getschel, the driver, hid the vehicle in the Mill Creek Ravine and took a cab home. Reports state that Getschel told friends and family that the vehicle had been stolen. He returned a day later to pick it up, removed the license plate and filed for a new plate, claiming the original had been stolen. He went to work later that day and that is when police were able to track down what happened before arresting him at their headquarters on June 28. Getschel had turned himself him after telling family members what he had done.
Getschel will be sentenced on December 3.
Jimmo, last fought professionally, May 30, 2015 under the UFC banner. He accumulated a 19-5 professional record dating back to 2007. He was the former Maximum Fighting Championship light heavyweight champion and trained at Power MMA in Arizona.
UPDATE: Getschel will serve 8-years behind bars. The sentence came down just minutes ago.
