A local mixed martial arts trainer who once fought in a UFC event was arrested on Monday for his alleged involvement in a 1999 murder in Mesa.
Homer "Rock" Moore, 42, was arrested by Tempe police and the U.S. Marshals Service on a charge of first-degree murder in the death of 19-year-old Karam Hussein Jabbar.
Police say Jabbar was found in the trunk of a car in the parking lot of a Mesa grocery store with his hands and feet bound and a bag over his head.
According to Tempe police, which investigated Jabbar's murder, several people were involved in the killing, although only Moore has been arrested.
The murder reportedly was the result of an attempt to rob Jabbar of some marijuana, and Moore had been questioned early on about the murder.
A police spokesman says Moore's arrest is the result of more and more evidence being collected over the years.
A timeline of Moore's MMA career shows that the murder took place between Moore's second and third professional fights. In 2001, after Moore had amassed an 11-0 record, mostly in Arizona-based fights, he was selected to fight an undercard fight in a UFC event, UFC 34.
Moore lost that fight in a second-round submission, and was never brought back for another UFC event, although he continued to fight in events hosted by various promotion companies all the way up until 2013.
His bond has been set at $1 million. To check out some of his MMA and other fighting clips, see below for a video he compiled himself:
Got a tip? Send it to: Matthew Hendley.
Follow Valley Fever on Twitter at @ValleyFeverPHX.
Follow Matthew Hendley at @MatthewHendley.
