A Boca-Raton based mixed martial artist named Aaron Rajman was killed in his home on the 3rd of July 2017. The four individuals invaded the house of 25 years old MMA fighter and killed him with a shot.
The house invasion and murder ultimately led to the arrest of three teenagers by local police.
The suspects included two 18 years old boys named Roberto Ortiz and Jace Swinton, the 3rd being the 16 years old Summer Church. Police charged all three suspects with first-degree murder.
Police checked the phone record of Rajman and found out that he received a call from Church before the incident. Upon asking, Church’s mother explained that her daughter was asked to call him to know if he was at home, under threat of being shot.
State Attorney Dave Aronberg said,
“This was no random act of violence, Mr. Rajman was targeted by these defendants, and we intend to see justice for the victim and his family.”
After six years, Court found Roberto Ortiz guilty of first-degree murder along with two counts of robbery and home invasion, all committed using a gun. Court announced three consecutive life sentences for Roberto Ortiz.
According to Court, Rajman operated a marijuana business from his house and had a lot of money at home. So, the invasion was a preplanned setup to target the money and drugs located at Rajman’s house. Ortiz’s fingerprints matched those taken from the crime scene. Therefore, he was found guilty.
According to Ortiz’s lawyer, Church and Swinton changed their statements to save themselves and put the blame on my client. Court sentenced Church and Swinton to 10 years of prison and 10 years in probation in 2019 after pleading guilty.
Rajman was known as “The Matza Brawler” during his MMA career. He was pretty successful in amateur MMA with eight wins and one loss. After that, Rajman tried his luck in professional MMA, losing three and winning only 2. He last appeared in an MMA ring in 2016, when he lost against Cristhian Rivas.