Attorney: ‘Agreement’ in works on sex assault charge for MMA’s Michael Whitehead

By Dave Toplikar (contact)

Monday, Feb. 7, 2011 | 9:37 a.m.

Michael Whitehead

A plea deal appears to be in the works for mixed martial arts fighter Michael "Iron Mike" Whitehead, who was charged in April 2010 for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman in his home.

Whitehead was to have had a preliminary hearing this morning in front of Justice of the Peace Janiece Marshall.

However, Whitehead did not attend and his attorney, Keith Brower, told the judge that Whitehead was out of custody in Arizona and had not been able to attend today's hearing.

"The state and the defendant have reached an agreement on this matter," Brower told the judge. He asked the judge for 30 days or three weeks to get Whitehead back to court.

"He is stuck in Arizona," Brower said.

Marshall set a court date for a status check on the case for 8 a.m. Feb. 28.

Outside the hearing, Brower wouldn't make any other comments about the case.

Whitehead voluntarily turned himself into detectives April 14 following an incident on April 10, in which a woman filed a police report indicating the MMA fighter had assaulted her.

The woman told police that she and a friend had gone to Whitehead's home for a barbecue, then after drinking, decided not to drive home, according to a police report.

The report said Whitehead told the women that they could sleep in his bed.

One of the women said she awoke to find her pants down and Whitehead having sex with her in the bed. Although she repeatedly demanded that he stop, he didn't for about three minutes, according to the police report.

After the alleged incident, Whitehead sat in a chair in the bedroom, police said. The second woman, who had been next to the woman on the bed, said she witnessed the alleged assault, according to the police report. The second woman alleged that Whitehead groped her during the incident, the report said.

After turning himself in, Whitehead was booked into the Clark County Detention Center on a charge of sexual assault, attempted sexual assault and open and gross lewdness.