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Former WWE star and current Ring of Honor Producer Adam Carlson Birch aka Joey Mercury is scheduled to be arraigned in Orange County Court in Florida on Wednesday morning 10/10 at 8:30 AM on several charges stemming from his arrest last month. The arraignment is related to one of two current cases against him tjhat resulted in that arrest.
Birch had been taken into custody on the morning of 8/31 by The Schaumburg Police Department. PWInsider.com had previously reported 9/1 based on what we were told by Cook County’s Department of Corrections, but it appears that was instead the date they took custody of Birch. The Schaumburg Police Department told PWInsider.com that they “had contact” with Birch at 6:58 AM outside of 50 North Martindale Road, which is the address of The Marriott Schaumburg. PWInsider.com was told at the time that authorities were notified of Birch sleeping in his car outside the hotel. They approached Birch and after running his personal information, discovered he was wanted on an outstanding warrant in Orange County, Florida and was taken into custody.
While Birch was not charged by The Schaumburg Police Department, he was still taken into custody at the Cook County Department of Corrections, which resulted in Birch being extradited back to Florida on 9/25.
In the first case, Birch is being accused of allegedly using a credit card belonging to the victim to acquire $300 around 4/28. This has resulted in charges being filed against Birch for Fraudulent Use or Possession of Personal Identification Information, Fraudulent Use of a Credit Card to obtain more than $100 in value, Grand Theft Third Degree and Petit theft. The court records note that on 10/3, the State Attorney’s office has submitted they have a DVD of surveillance video, although the contents of the video are not disclosed. This is the case Birch is slated to be arraigned on tomorrow. Birch's attorney has not, as of this writing, responded to the court regarding how Birch intends to defend himself against the charges. That may come tomorrow at the hearing.
In the second case, Birch has been accused Identity Theft, Conspiracy to commit credit card fraud over $300, Use or Possession of Personal Identification Information and Petit Theft. The second case includes allegations that Birch was "observed using" the victim's credit card at Footaction (a footwear outlet) and then at Champs (a clothing outlet), directly next door to Foot Action on 5/7.
On 10/3, Birch’s attorney filed a 26-page response to the allegations in the second case, informing the court that Birch was out of the country in Germany and Great Britain from 5/1 through 5/8, providing copies of his passport stamps, bank transactions, fight and hotel itineraries. His attorney intends to argue that since Birch was not in the country, there is not way he could be responsible for crimes in the United States on 5/7. Birch’s attorney, to back their claim, submitted a poster for an appearance for Westside Xtreme Wrestling as well as social media response to a training camp Birch took part in.
In each case, Birch’s attorney has filed motions that he is not guilty, that he is waiving his preliminary appearances and is demanding a jury trial.
Birch has had a long run the business, debuting in 1996 when he was just 15 years old. As Joey Matthews, he had runs in the original ECW, Ring of Honor and a slew of independent promotions up and down the Eastern seaboard before being signed by WWE in 2002.
As Joey Mercury, he and John Morrison created a great act alongside Melina as MNM in Ohio Valley Wrestling before being called up to the main roster and capturing the WWE Tag Team Championship. Birch was released from the company in 2007. He returned in 2010 as a member of CM Punk’s Straight Edge Society and after that role ran its course, began working behind the scenes as a producer for WWE. In a documentary WWE released about Punk, Birch spoke about how he was about to lose his home due to financial issues in the wake of his 2007 release, leading to Punk offering to pay to buy his house and save it. At the time, he said he considered Punk his best friend.
After his 2010 return, Birch rose in power within WWE. Long considered one of the better creative minds in the business when it came to putting together matches and finishes, Birch became one of the top lieutenants to Triple H and was instrumental in evolving WWE developmental from FCW into WWE NXT as well as the launch of the WWE Performance Center.
As Mercury, Birch returned to WWE TV as one half of J&J Security, alongside Jamie Noble, working as bodyguards for Seth Rollins, a heel at the time. He split his time with that on camera role and his behind the scenes responsibilities until he was pulled from the road during an NXT European tour. Birch was let go by WWE in March 2017.
By the Fall of that year, he was back wrestling on the independent scene and working as a trainer. He made regular appearances for House of Hardcore as a heel, feuding with Tommy Dreamer, which brought him back into some prominence. In May 2018, Birch was signed by ROH to work as a trainer at their ROH Academy in Maryland and work as a top producer for the company.
Birch had been involved in the planning of the 9/1 "All In”, including helping to put together the pre-show battle royal and work the gorilla position, but after his arrest, others stepped in to handle his duties. Birch was released on bond from Florida on 9/26.
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