Rodgers charged with stealing, drug-related offenses

By: 
Steve Chapman

Rodgers

An Aurora man is facing charges in two counties after being charged with felonies in both. James Roland Rodgers, 52, is charged with stealing in Greene County; he is also charged with delivery of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia in Barry County.

The stealing charge:

Rodgers is accused of stealing items valued at $560 from Staples in Springfield. According to the probable cause statement in the case, on Feb. 21, 2022, a man and a woman allegedly left the store with several items that they loaded into a Ford truck. An employee of the store told a Springfield Police officer that she confronted the two and told them that they would have to pay for the items, but that the two ignored her and left with the items in the truck.
The officer used video footage of the city’s Flock Camera System to track down the truck and found it belonged to a couple living in Marionville. However, the couple did not match the physical description of the two people in the incident.

Investigation into the charges:

In March, the officer looked at other cases associated with the couple’s truck and found that Rodgers was associated with the couple. He found that Rodgers and a Greene County woman (not named here because she is not charged in the case) were involved in a stolen vehicle case.
Looking at both of their booking and DOR photos, the officer reported that he became convinced that Rodgers and the woman resembled the suspects in the theft at Staples. Later, in a photo lineup the included both Rodgers’ and the woman’s pictures, the Staples employee pointed out a man she said she was “60 to 70-percent sure” was the male in the incident, though the probable cause statement did not name the man she identified. The employee also said she could not identify any of the women in the lineup as the female suspect in the case. The officer also contacted one of the owners of the truck, who told him that they had given Rodgers permission to borrow the vehicle.
The officer later questioned Rodgers, who admitted to being at Staples but said he couldn’t remember when. During the interview, the officer reported, he asked Rodgers why he took the items from Staples to which Rodgers allegedly stated, “um honestly, I couldn’t tell you.” The officer also said he asked Rodgers if he had fallen on hard times and needed things to steal, to which Rodgers, he said, answered “Yes.” The officer also asked Rodgers if he still had any of the items he had stolen from Staples and said that Rodgers replied a “Gambit graphite” backpack. Rodgers also refused to identify the woman who was allegedly with him during the incident.

Delivery of a controlled substance/drug paraphernalia possession charges:

Rodgers is also accused of possessing drug paraphernalia and delivering a controlled substance in Barry County. According to the probable cause statement in the case, Rodgers was stopped in Monett on Saturday, Dec. 3 when he failed to signal a turn. The officer who stopped Rodgers found him to have a suspended driver’s license and an active warrant with the City of Monett. Rodgers was then asked to step out of the vehicle and placed under arrest; the officer said he then found a glass-smoking pipe with a crystal residue in it on Rodger’s person. A search of Rodger’s vehicle reportedly also yielded two baggies with a white crystal substance and 11 empty baggies. Field tests of both the substance and baggies and the pipe showed positive for the presence of methamphetamine, the officer stated.

Taken into custody in both counties:

According to online records, Rodgers was taken into custody in Greene County on Tuesday, Jan. 3 and released on Thursday, Jan. 5. He was booked into the Barry County Jail on Friday, Jan. 6. As of presstime, he remained there in lieu of a $25,000 bond.
Rodgers is due in court in Greene County on Monday, Feb. 6. No court date had been scheduled for him in Barry County as of presstime.
 

Category:

Lawrence County Record

312 S. Hickory St.
Mt. Vernon, MO, 65712
www.lawrencecountyrecord.com

Facebook

Please Login for Premium Content