Garret Joe Swanson

In September 2012, Kosciusko County Prosecutor Dan Hampton told StaceyPageOnline.com that the man charged with forgery, theft and battery stemming from two separate incidents last summer was not likely to accept a plea bargain. On Jan. 3, Garrett Joe Swanson officially rejected any pleas and was scheduled to stand trial.

Swanson, 29, will have his first trial on April 23-25 in Kosciusko Superior Court I. He will be tried on a class B felony charge of aggravated battery. The charges stem from a May 18, 2012, bar fight at Rex’s Rendezvous in Warsaw that severely injured a fellow bar patron.

According to Warsaw Police and prosecutor’s reports, Swanson allegedly struck then 28-year-old Nicholas Phillips in the head with his fist causing serious head and facial injuries. Swanson then fled the bar when police arrived. Because of his mixed martial arts background, Hampton filed a class B felony charge of aggravated battery against Swanson.

He will be back in court in June when a two-day jury trial has been scheduled. Swanson will be tried June 26-27 for allegedly forging his name on six refund and/or referral checks, each totaling from $100 to $1,500, when he worked for The Auto Park in Warsaw. He is accused of then cashing the checks.He is charged with a total of six felonies including three charges of forgery, each a class C felony; and three charges of theft, each a class D felony.

According to confidential sources, Swanson claims he personally paid the customers their refund money or their referral reward money so they did not have to wait several weeks for it. He says when the checks then arrived, he kept them to reimburse himself.

Swanson is being represented by J. Brad Voelz. Both trials are slated to begin at 9 a.m. in Kosciusko Superior Court I.