Man pleads guilty in connection with death of Edmonton MMA fighter Ryan Jimmo

A man has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the 2016 death of Edmonton mixed martial arts fighter Ryan Jimmo.

Anthony Getschel was originally charged with second-degree murder in Jimmo’s death but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge in an Edmonton courtroom on Monday morning.

According to an agreed statement of facts, Getschel was out drinking at an Edmonton bar the night of June 26, 2016. He was involved in a fight at the bar, which ended with him being knocked to the ground.

Getschel and two others then left the bar and got into a 1998 GMC Sierra pickup truck.

At around 2 a.m., the truck was heading west on Whyte Avenue in the area of 101 Street when it came up behind a 2008 Jeep Patriot, driven by Jimmo.

Jimmo, who used to live in Edmonton, was visiting the city from Arizona with his girlfriend. The pair had just been to a movie and was out touring the city.

Feeling the truck behind him was driving aggressively, Jimmo turned into a nearby strip mall parking lot — but the truck followed.

Jimmo stopped his Jeep and got out of the vehicle. He approached the driver’s side of the truck, slapped the window and challenged Getschel and his male passenger to a fight.

A verbal exchange followed, but Getschel and his passengers stayed inside the truck. The verbal exchange continued as Jimmo walked back to his vehicle.

As he was standing beside the driver’s door of the Jeep, Jimmo heard shouting coming from the truck. He turned to look back at the truck as it came speeding over two concrete parking curbs. The truck then struck Jimmo “at speed,” according to the agreed statement of facts, “dragging him out in front of the Jeep.”

Knowing he had struck Jimmo, Getschel continued driving out of the parking lot and onto Whyte Avenue, nearly hitting another vehicle. The truck then drove east in the westbound lanes of Whyte Ave., eventually crossing the median into the correct lanes of traffic.

Witnesses in the parking lot called 911 and were able to wave down a police vehicle that was driving down Whyte Ave.

Jimmo was lying on the ground, conscious but badly injured. Police provided first aid until fire and EMS crews arrived at around 2:20 a.m. Jimmo was taken by ambulance to the University of Alberta Hospital, but on the way to the hospital he went into cardiac arrest.

While emergency crews attempted to resuscitate him, Jimmo was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Meanwhile, Getschel dropped off his passengers and hid the truck in Mill Creek Ravine. He took a taxi home, told a family member his truck had been stolen and went to bed.

The following morning, Getschel woke up and told the same family member what happened the previous night. He went and got his truck and took it to a registry office where he reported that his licence plate had been stolen in order to get a new plate.

The following Monday morning, Getschel left for a job in Fort McMurray. He returned to Edmonton later that night and at 1 a.m. Tuesday, Getschel turned himself in to police.

An autopsy revealed Jimmo, 34, died of multiple blunt force and crush injuries, consistent with being run over by a vehicle.

Jimmo was only in Edmonton for a couple of days before he was killed. During his MMA career, Jimmo made his sensational UFC debut (at UFC 149) in Calgary in July 2012. Fighting as a light heavyweight, he tied the record for the organization’s fastest knockout when he dispatched Anthony Perosh in just seven seconds.

Jimmo was also a champion in the Edmonton-based Maximum Fighting Championship and he appeared in the eighth season of The Ultimate Fighter.

Getschel, who was crying in the prisoner’s box Monday, will be back in court on Dec. 3 for a sentencing hearing.

In June 2016, Jordan Wagner was charged with accessory after the fact to murder in the incident.

Global News has put in an inquiry to see where the charge against Wagner stands and will update this story once the information is known.