Ex-champ kickboxer ordered to California
A federal magistrate has ordered former champion kickboxer Dennis Alexio detained and returned to California, where he failed to show for sentencing for failing to pay more than $34,000 in child support.
Alexio appeared yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Kevin Chang asking to be released on his own recognizance and promising to appear for sentencing in San Francisco once he is officially notified of a court date.
But Chang denied his request based on Alexio's history of failing to abide by court orders and ruled that he was a flight risk, causing Alexio to stand and protest.
"I do not agree to consent to any of that," Alexio said out loud before he was led away by U.S. marshals. He accused his court-appointed attorney of being part of the system working against him.
"You're supposed to protect me over there," he said, pointing to assistant federal defender Pamela Byrne. "You know that's fraud."
U.S. marshals arrested Alexio yesterday morning while he worked out at the Kalakaua boxing ring.
Federal prosecutors argued that Alexio failed to comply with the court's orders to pay child support and should be returned to the Northern District of California, which issued a warrant for his arrest Nov. 18.
Alexio identified himself to the court as Dennis Raymond Alexio, "a living soul," but denied he is the person named in the warrant. He contends that the warrant was invalid.
He said he complied with a plea agreement in the matter and "tendered" child support payments in June and October that were "accepted" by the court. He said he was never notified by his attorney about the sentencing date, which had been postponed at least once.
Chang ruled the warrant was valid and enforceable, and ordered the U.S. marshals to process his return to California.
A California grand jury indicted Alexio on July 1, 2004, on two counts of bank fraud in addition to failure to pay more than $30,000 in outstanding child support. He was accused of writing two bad checks to the Marin County Child Support Division to satisfy his child support obligations.
