News briefs for March 19, 2003

Wednesday, March 19, 2003 | 9:33 a.m.

Three to stand trial on fight videos

Three filmmakers who paid homeless men and women to beat each other up before the camera, then sold videotapes of their fights over the Internet have been ordered to stand trial on misdemeanor charges.

The defendants -- Ryan McPherson, 19; Zachary Bubeck, 25; Daniel J. Tanner, 21 -- appeared in court on Monday where a Superior Court judge ordered them to stand trial in June.

A fourth man involved in the enterprise, Michael Slyman, 21; pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of conspiracy to illegal fight promotion. Prosecutor Curtis Ross said it was unlikely he would serve jail time.

The four began producing the videos in Las Vegas before moving to San Diego.

The defendants rejected a plea bargain that would have required them to plead guilty to soliciting battery and a count of promoting an illegal fight.

In January, a judge threw out felony battery and soliciting charges against the men, citing insufficient evidence.

More than 300,000 copies have been sold of the films, which depict homeless men and women engaged in humiliating, self-destructive acts, including ripping out teeth and ramming themselves into doors.

Apartment hit by morning blaze

A kitchen and living room were destroyed in a fire at an apartment near Warm Springs Road and Green Valley Parkway about 12:20 a.m. today, the Henderson Fire Department said.

The fire started in the kitchen and was ruled accidental. It caused an estimated $78,000 in damage. One resident was hospitalized for smoke inhalation.