SANTA ANA – An Orange County Superior Court jury on Wednesday acquitted former mixed martial arts fighter Jason “Mayhem” Miller of felony domestic violence charges, determining that he did not beat his ex-girlfriend in his Mission Viejo home in 2013.

The jury deliberated for about an hour before finding Miller, a 36-year-old former championship MMA fighter, not guilty of two counts of felony domestic violence. He also was found not guilty of a misdemeanor count of violating a restraining order.

He had faced up to five years in prison if convicted.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Mark Geller had argued that Miller “beat up” his then-girlfriend, Anna Stabile, on two occasions. Geller noted photos of bruises on Stabile’s legs and her testimony in the trial.

Juror Kevin Faudoa, 40, said Stabile never showed proof of injuries that would have been consistent with being punched repeatedly in the face.

“There wasn’t enough evidence to have him 100 percent being at fault,” Faudoa said.

Miller, sporting a purple Mohawk haircut, nodded his head as the verdicts were read.

In the trial, his attorney, Cameron Talley painted Stabile as “lying and manipulative” and said the two had a tumultuous relationship fueled by her jealousy over Miller’s desire to see other women. Talley said Stabile had multiple inconsistencies in her testimony, including lying about whether Miller had spit on her and whether she had injuries to her face.

While she said that Miller had straddled her and repeatedly punched her in the face, she had no evidence of injuries on her face except for two scratches that she later told police she might have accidentally “done to herself,” Talley said.

He said Stabile had actually been the one to attack Miller, who had trained her, on multiple occasions.

Stabile continued to send Miller sexually explicit text messages a week after their last fight, but when he broke up with her at a Starbucks, she called police the next day, Talley said.

“I feel tremendous,” said Miller after the verdict. “I feel like justice was served. The system worked. It cleared the Mayhem Miller name.”

Miller said he now looks forward to the future.

“I feel like the world has opened up to me,” he said. “I feel like things have finally cleared up for Mayhem.”

While Miller has “paid a big price” over the past three years and was labeled as an abuser, the system finally worked for him, Talley said.

Miller, who now works as a trainer and manages other fighters, has had several clashes with Orange County law enforcement in recent years. He is currently facing multiple felony charges including, vandalism, resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer by spitting on him.

In October 2014, Miller barricaded himself inside his Mission Viejo home for more than four hours and live-tweeted the incident while sheriff’s deputies tried to detain him for an outstanding arrest warrant.

Talley on Wednesday said Miller struggled with depression after he was falsely accused of domestic violence and is now working to turn his life around.

City News Service contributed to this report

Contact the writer: kpuente@ocregister.com