30-year-old KOTC and LFC veteran Tyler East has died after being shot during a domestic dispute in which he reportedly shot his girlfriend. The woman, whose name hasn’t been publicly released, is in stable condition after being treated at the hospital for her injuries.
The news was first reported by KOB4.
The incident occurred on Monday night at a residence in Los Lunas, New Mexico. Police received a call regarding a domestic dispute and arrived at the scene to find a woman — East’s girlfriend — with a gunshot wound. East was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police told the outlet that East shot his girlfriend and dragged her out of the house. Another man at the residence shot East outside and reportedly fled the scene. The police are currently conducting an ongoing investigation into the matter.
East’s MMA career was overshadowed by his numerous run-ins with the law, which have included multiple allegations of domestic violence. In 2012, he was indicted on charges of kidnapping and aggravated burglary at a friend’s house in search of cocaine. He reportedly kneed a woman in the jaw during the incident and forced his ex-girlfriend to watch the entire situation. The ex-girlfriend said that East had threatened to kill her during a phone conversation, expressing certainty that East would “end up taking someone’s life” in a statement to the court.
“Tyler is a very violent, scary person,” she said in a statement originally transcribed by the Albuquerque Journal. “With all due respect, he’s not only a danger to himself, he’s a danger to other people. I don’t know how many times you can smack him on the hand and let him go so that he can do whatever he wants. He has no regard for people, property, or anything… It doesn’t matter if he serves a year in jail or if he serves 20 years. The day that man gets out of jail, he’s going to end up taking someone’s life. He’s that mean and he’s that cruel and he has no regard for anybody but himself.”
In 2009, East was accused of beating a high school classmate in gym class. He was sentenced to three years of probation (which he violated by trying to use a fake ID) after pleading no contest to third-degree aggravated battery in connection with the incident.
East’s MMA career sits at 15-6. His most recent fight took place in October 2016, resulting in a TKO loss to Brian Heden.
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