Items stolen from slain MMA fighter’s home
Authorities: Aaron Rajman’s swords, drugs, money taken.
BOCA RATON — The three teens arrested in connection with Aaron Rajman’s July 3 slaying also are accused of stealing swords, marijuana, a scale, narcotics and money from the mixed martial arts fighter’s Boca Raton-area home, according to recently released indictments.
On Aug. 31, a grand jury indicted Summer Church, 16, Roberto Ortiz, 18, and Jace Swinton, 18, on a first-degree murder charge and two counts apiece of home invasion with either a firearm or other deadly weapon. They were booked Sept. 1 into the Palm Beach County Jail, where they are being held without bail.
According to the indictments, the teens robbed Rajman, 25, of swords, drugs and money and stole a cellphone from Autumn Matthews. The indictments don’t offer any further informa- tion about Matthews, n o r h a v e Palm Beach County sheriff ’s authorit i e s c o m - mented on Matthews’ role that fat al ni g ht . A pers on c l os e t o Rajman declined to comment on the indictment.
Authorities have not elaborated on the teens’ suspected roles in the murder and home invasion. Each of the three indictments reads about the same: The defendant “did unlawfully from a premeditated design to effect the death of a human being, kill and murder Aaron Rajman, a human being, by shooting Aaron Rajman.”
It remains unclear which of the teens is accused of fatally shooting Rajman.
State laws keep grand jury presentments out of the public record, meaning authorities don’t have to release the specifics of the crime until the case goes before a judge.
According to the Sheriff ’s Office, Rajman was shot after several men entered his home at about 10:30 p.m. July 3. A fight broke out, and Rajman was shot before the men fled. No mention was made by the sheriff ’s office of a female participating in the shooting when it first reported the murder.
“This was no random act of violence,” Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg said in a statement issued Friday afternoon. “Mr. Rajman was targeted by these defendants, and we intend to seek justice for the victim and his family.”
Rajman, an Orthodox Jew, made his mixed martial arts debut in April 2014 and had a 2-2 record as a professional. He was born in New York and moved with his family to Florida as a preschooler. A family friend said his parents later divorced, and for the past few years, he shared a home west of Boca Raton with his mother, his mother’s aunt and his younger brother.
According to the fight web- site Sherdog, Rajman was a 145-pound featherweight who trained at American Top Team in Coconut Creek and had an amateur record of 8-1. Another site, The Underground, also said he had an amateur record of 8-1.
Friends raised more than $27,500 on a GoFundMe. com account for Rajman’s funeral.
“He was always smiling, never had a bad day,” Lamar Brown, a 27-year-old lightweight who trained alongside Rajman, said shortly after his death. “But as nice as he was outside the cage, he was just as tough inside it.”