'Mayhem' Miller Pleads Not Guilty Following Misison Viejo Standoff with Deputies

Mixed martial arts fighter Jason “Mayhem” Miller, who live-tweeted from his Mission Viejo home during a standoff with sheriff’s deputies earlier this month, pleaded not guilty today to a misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest.

Miller was ordered to return to the Santa Ana courthouse on Dec. 1 for a pretrial hearing.

Miller was declared a fugitive Sept. 8 when he failed to show up for a hearing in a domestic violence and stalking case, prompting sheriff’s deputies to go to his Mission Viejo home Oct. 9 with an arrest warrant.

When deputies showed up at his home about 10:30 a.m. that day, he came to the door but ran back inside and refused to come out. About 2:15 p.m., SWAT officers placed a device on his door that blew off the locks, prompting Miller to surrender.

He posted bail and was released Oct. 16.

After Miller’s arrest, defense attorney Joseph H. Low IV told City News Service the raid at his client’s home was unnecessary.

“Jason had been under the care of a doctor for an illness,” Low said. “He (had) been waiting for me to come back to town, so that we could go back to court to continue to prove his innocence. I wish the police had informed me of their raid. We could have saved the taxpayers a lot of money. There was no reason at all for them to get all dressed up in their SWAT costumes.”

During the standoff, Miller tweeted from inside his home at 26262 Avenida Calidad.

“They just threw a phone box threw a plate glass window” said one tweet from Miller. “OCSD You will pay for the damage to my home,” said another.

Aside from the resisting arrest charge, Miller stil faces two counts of corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant and stalking, all felonies, and a misdemeanor count of violating a protective order, according to court records.

Court records show Miller’s $200,000 bond in the initial case was forfeited on Sept. 8.

Miller, 33, had vandalism charges against him dismissed Nov. 21, 2012, but found himself in trouble with the law again for the domestic violence case in August 2013.

In August 2012, he was charged with breaking at least one picture frame and damaging a propane tank and other items while spray-painting inside Mission Hills Church, causing at least $400 in damage.

The church’s pastor told authorities he found Miller nude except for a cloth wrapped around him and books and CDs scattered around the church, along with broken picture frames and fire extinguisher dust on the first and second floors.

--City News Service

PHOTO Patch file photo.

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