Curiosity
Cage Fighter Charles Rowan Gets 40 Years For Faking His Own Death
Charles Rowan, 26, ‘died’ shortly before he was arrested for robbing a Michigan gun store with a hammer
It seems like a bad movie plot: Cage fighter from Michigan fakes death to escape drug debt and is discovered after robbing a gun store, cage fighter flees with accomplice girlfriend hiding from police, the feds, the drug dealers and the other cage fighters.
Sadly in real life low level cage fighter Charles Rowan, affectionately nicknamed the Tomato Can by fans, did in fact, fake his death after viewing a Discovery Channel show where a man faked his death in order to start a new life. Over $80,000 in debt from cocaine, Rowan needed to disappear and arranged for his girlfriend Rosalinda Martinez to call his family and fight promoter to say he died in a car crash.
As reported by the New York Times, on March 18, several weeks later, Rowan and Martinez robbed Guns and Stuff with Rowan striking the 75 year old owner, Richard Robinette, in the head with a hammer. According to CBS Detroit Online the victim was rushed to the hospital in critical but stable condition. His family called his recovery miraculous.
The Daily Mail reports that Rowan was recently sentenced to 17.5 to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty to robbing the store.
Friend’s and fans payed homage to Rowan after he died with photos like these posted on a friend’s facebook page
