By: Brandon Thurston
Reporting for POST Wrestling
This article has been updated with information regarding Swann’s mandatory hearing on September 4.
Rich Swann was arrested on June 8 in Altamonte Springs, Fla., and charged with disorderly public intoxication and causing a disturbance, a misdemeanor offense.
Swann is entering a substance abuse rehab program, POST Wrestling was told by TNA on Wednesday. The company first learned of Swann’s arrest when we contacted them on Monday for comment.
According to a public arrest report filed with Seminole County and obtained this week by POST Wrestling, an individual who was later identified as Swann was initially described as a Black male wearing a black shirt and blue shorts, attempting to forcefully enter an apartment door at approximately 9:50 pm.
“I was getting into the shower when I heard a loud banging coming from the front door,” the resident who called the police said in a sworn statement, according to the police report filed by Zane Hoskins of the Altamonte Springs Police Department.
“When my son… started yelling for me to come to the door, I came out of the bathroom and heard the loud banging so I went to my room and grabbed my handgun,” the man who lives in the apartment told police. “I announced that I had a gun and for whoever was banging on my door to leave.”
When Swann allegedly started yelling, “This is my house,” the apartment resident opened the door and showed his gun. Swann was said to have reacted by backing up and leaving the property.
The resident of the apartment then contacted authorities to report the incident. When police arrived at the scene they were told by the resident that Swann had run away, toward the nearby woods.
Swann possibly mistook the apartment for his own home. The address of the apartment Swann was allegedly trying to kick in is a short walk from his own address.
The resident told Hoskins, the police officer, that he didn’t want to press charges against Swann, who damaged his front door.
Police subsequently received another call, this time from a woman located in the same neighborhood.
According to Hoskins’ report, the woman told him in a sworn statement that she had gone to her son’s apartment to pick up Amazon packages when she encountered Swann.
“I heard a male trying to talk to me. [Swann] started following me and I asked him to stop.”
Swann, according to the report, responded, “What do you mean stop following you?”
“So I started running as he followed me up to my door but I managed to get inside and lock it before he could get in,” the woman said in her statement to Hoskins.
Officers located Swann near the area and took him into custody. They then escorted him back to the first apartment where he allegedly tried to kick in the door. Police used FaceTime to contact the resident of the apartment, who confirmed Swann was the person who had tried to force his way through the door.
The police report describes Swann as incoherent and appearing to be intoxicated. Hoskins reported he smelled alcohol on Swann’s breath, that his eyes were glassy, and his speech was slurred.
Hoskins wrote in the report: “I asked if Richard had any drinks containing alcohol. He stated that he did. When asked how many, he stated, ‘A lot.’ I asked Richard when did he start to drink and he told me around 1900 hours,” about three hours earlier.
“[Swann’s] actions while intoxicated caused multiple disturbances and his behavior caused several residents concern for their safety,” Hoskins wrote, explaining his reason for charging Swann.
The arrest report states Swann was then driven to the John E. Polk Correction Facility in Sanford, Fla., about 10 miles from where he was arrested.
Swann was released the following day on a $250 bond, according to court records.
He submitted an Affidavit of Indigency, which is an application a defendant can use to claim they cannot afford an attorney and should be appointed a public defender. Swann’s application was denied and as a result, he was charged $50. On the application, Swann appears to have indicated that he’s homeless, although other records indicate he has a home address.
Swann is being defended by a private attorney from the Joshi law firm in Orlando, according to court records.
During a pre-trial hearing on Wednesday, Swann was not present, but his defense attorney attended on his behalf. The court set a plea status hearing date for Sept. 4. Swann must appear at that hearing or risk forfeiture of his $250 bond.
Court records indicate that several deputies and police officers, including Hoskins, have been subpoenaed to testify in Swann’s case on Sept. 9. Additionally, the state attorney’s office informed Swann’s attorney that police body camera and car camera footage related to the incident will be included in the discovery, with these materials now available for review.
Notably, Swann was charged with the same offense in September 2022, an incident not previously reported in media, when he was arrested for allegedly causing a disturbance while intoxicated at the apartment complex where he lives. The court ordered him to pay $351.49 related to that charge.
TNA first became aware of these incidents when we reached out for comment on this report. The company commented on Wednesday, saying it’s taking immediate steps to address the situation internally and that Swann has voluntarily entered a substance abuse rehabilitation program.
“TNA Wrestling takes any and all charges against its performers seriously,” TNA told POST Wrestling in a statement. “Rich Swann is responsible for his own personal actions.”
“He has informed TNA Wrestling that he is voluntarily entering into a substance abuse rehabilitation program. TNA Wrestling has suspended Rich pending the completion of its investigation into the incidents.”
Swann is also pulling out of future independent bookings.
Swann wrestled for TNA six days after the arrest, on June 14 at the “Against All Odds” show in Cicero, Ill. He has appeared on TNA TV tapings after that show and on several independent wrestling shows.
In December 2017, Swann was arrested in Gainesville, Fla., and charged with false imprisonment, a felony, as well as simple domestic battery, which is a misdemeanor. Those charges, which were later dropped, stemmed from an incident in a car involving his wife, pro wrestler Su Yung, whose real name is Vannarah Riggs. According to witnesses, Riggs tried to leave the car the two were in. Swann allegedly pursued Riggs, put her in a headlock, and pulled her back into the vehicle. Soon after, Swann was suspended by WWE, which he worked for at the time. He was released from the company two months later. The charges, however, were dismissed due to insufficient evidence, according to court records.
