Nevada pro-wrestler turned congressional candidate jailed in wrongfully convicted man’s death

A former Nevada congressional candidate and pro wrestler wanted in connection with a killing on the Strip last year was seen turning himself in at the Clark County Detention Center on Wednesday evening.

Daniel Rodimer was seen walking into the jail’s front entrance with his attorney, David Chesnoff, shortly before 6 p.m. Wednesday. He did not speak to reporters and shielded his face as he walked into the building.

An arrest warrant was issued Wednesday for Rodimer, 45, in connection with the November death of Christopher Tapp, 47, the Metropolitan Police Department announced Wednesday. Tapp is an Idaho man who spent two decades in prison after he was wrongfully convicted.

“Mr. Rodimer is voluntarily surrendering to authorities and will post a court ordered bail,” Chesnoff and fellow attorney Richard Schonfeld wrote in an emailed statement. “He intends on vigorously contesting the allegations and asks that the presumption of innocence guaranteed all Americans be respected.”

Rodimer was “flying in to address the warrant,” the Las Vegas Justice Court docket read Wednesday afternoon.

The arrest warrant calls for Rodimer to be held on a $200,000 bail, according to the court docket.

Rodimer was seen going through the booking process at the jail on Wednesday. Court records indicate he has posted a surety bond on a $200,000 bail. He is set to appear in court April 10.

The dispute between the two men allegedly arose after Tapp offered Rodimer’s stepdaughter cocaine during a party in a Resorts World suite, according to Metro police documents, which cite witnesses.

A “visibly upset” Rodimer then went into a bathroom where Tapp was and was heard to say, “If you ever talk to my daughter again, I’ll f—-ing kill you,” according to the report.

Two loud banging noises were then heard. The witness told police Rodimer had punched Tapp.

About 20 to 30 minutes later, medical personnel arrived and Tapp was taken to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center.

Tapp, whose legal ordeal made headlines as it progressed from his initial arrest to his release, was convicted of rape and murder after the 1996 death of 18-year-old Angie Dodge. He spent 21 years behind bars before his release in 2017 and exoneration in 2019.

Rodimer, a Republican who was endorsed by then-President Donald Trump in 2020, lost his bid for Nevada’s 3rd District that year. In 2021, Rodimer then announced another congressional run, this time in a special election in Texas’ 6th District. He also lost that race.

According to Metro and an autopsy report released by Clark County coroner’s office, Tapp died from the effects of blunt force trauma to the head after a “physical altercation” Oct. 29 at Resorts World.

He was pronounced dead at Sunrise hospital on Nov. 5.

In 2020, after Tapp filed a lawsuit in federal court against the city of Idaho Falls, he told a newspaper there that he was hoping for a new start.

“I’m hoping that this nightmare will come to an end,” Tapp said at the time. “I’ve been living it for the last 23 years of my life.”

In 2021, another Idaho man, Brian Leigh Dripps, pleaded guilty to Dodge’s rape and murder.

According to the Death Penalty Information Center, the city of Idaho Falls agreed to a $11.7 million settlement with Tapp.

The initial summary of investigation listed on Tapp’s autopsy report states Tapp “suffered an unwitnessed fall and was down approximately one hour until friends found him and called 911.”

And police said in a news release that medical personnel responded on Oct. 29 to a call for service for a man, later identified as Tapp, “suffering from injuries as a result of a purported accident.”

But the initial possibility that Tapp’s death had been accidental would later change, with further “investigative circumstances” relayed to Metro police in November and witness statements given to investigators on Dec. 11, the autopsy report said.

“The interview describes Mr. Tapp in a physical altercation with another individual … directly resulting in Mr. Tapp’s head trauma,” the autopsy report said.

Tapp, who had been taken to Sunrise hospital, was given a “poor prognosis,” the report said.

“Radiology found multiple brain bleeds,” the report said, and Tapp’s toxicology was also positive for cocaine, alcohol and marijuana.

On Jan. 2, the coroner’s office ruled the death a homicide.

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