Bumfights' producer defends his video
EL CAJON, California (AP) -- Three filmmakers have been ordered to stand trial on charges they paid homeless men and women to beat each other up on camera, then sold videotapes of their fights over the Internet.
A Superior Court judge on Monday ordered the defendants to stand trial in June on misdemeanor charges.
Ryan McPherson, 19, Zachary Bubeck, 25, and Daniel J. Tanner, 21, are charged in connection with a video that depicts homeless men and women engaged in humiliating, self-destructive acts, including ripping out teeth and ramming themselves into doors.
"Bumfights: A Cause for Concern" sold more than 300,000 copies.
McPherson, Bubeck and Tanner have pleaded innocent and have rejected plea bargains that would have required them to plead guilty to soliciting battery and a count of promoting an illegal fight.
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 he probably will not serve jail time.
In January, a judge threw out felony battery and soliciting charges against the men, citing insufficient evidence.
