The following is a press release issued by the Mendocino County District Attorney’s Office:
Defendant Brock Adam Rogers, age 41, of Covelo, was sentenced Wednesday afternoon in the Mendocino County Superior Court to four years in state prison. He was remanded from the courtroom into the custody of the Sheriff for transportation to CDCR.
Rogers stands convicted by a June 2023 plea of felony assault with a deadly weapon, said felonious assault occurring just days before Thanksgiving 2022.
Rogers, through his private attorney, has repeatedly asserted during court proceedings his unsubstantiated belief that a long-time Washington State friend, former next-door neighbor, and black market marijuana associate may have “possibly” stolen an amount of their shared marijuana, an accusation that the victim adamantly denied from the very beginning.
When the defendant confronted the victim with his suspicions last November, the victim’s denial angered the defendant and he initiated methods to attempt to force the victim to recant and tell “the truth” that the defendant wanted to hear.
All the while calling out for help, the victim was falsely imprisoned in the defendant’s Lovell Street house, hog-tied, beat with a Japanese bokken (wooden sword), and had his cell phone stolen and driven away in order to prevent the victim from calling for help.
The victim suffered significant bruising from the beating, had to walk with a cane for two weeks after the attack, and now suffers from PTSD. Now living out-of-state, the victim reported that he still experiences almost daily flashbacks to that day that cause him sleep, stress, and anxiety issues.
By all accounts, the defendant’s ongoing relationship with marijuana has been problematic, causing him significant legal problems over the years … with those legal problems now culminating in this week’s commitment to state prison.
In 2004, when he was 22 years of age, the defendant was convicted of felony distribution of marijuana for sale in Snohomish County, Washington.
In 2006, when he was 23 years of age, the defendant was convicted of misdemeanor possession of more than an ounce of marijuana in Humboldt County, a conviction that violated the defendant’s Washington probation.
In 2010, the defendant was discovered cultivating marijuana while unlawfully armed with a shotgun at his then-Potter Valley residence. He was ultimately convicted in that case when he was 28 years of age of being a convicted felon in unlawful possession of a firearm, a felony.
In 2011, when he was 29 years of age, the defendant’s 2010 probation was violated for, among other things, again being in possession of marijuana.
In 2016, when he was 34 years of age, the defendant was convicted in Lake County of driving a motor vehicle under the influence of both alcohol and marijuana.
When asked by Probation in the current case about his employment history, defendant Rogers affirmed that one of his jobs — in addition to being a self-employed baker and self-employed glass artist — was as a self-employed “cannabis cultivation consultant” from 2014 to present in the Covelo area, a claim indirectly corroborated by the victim who reported that the defendant has been growing illegal marijuana “for over a decade.”
The defendant’s long-term marijuana involvement is also confirmed by the facts of an earlier murder prosecution wherein defendant Rogers admitted he was a marijuana “consultant” for a Covelo property owner operating an illegal marijuana farm. In 2016, another criminal defendant, Joshua Richard Ruoff, committed and was later convicted by a jury of the brutal murder of one of that farm’s occasional workers.
Finally, the sentencing recommendation submitted for Wednesday’s hearing made the following observations, observations that should provide food for thought for Rogers and, perhaps, others:
“Probation wonders when the defendant will recognize that his involvement with marijuana keeps getting him into trouble with the law. All this considered, it appears Mr. Rogers prioritizes marijuana over everything else; especially the safety of his own friends (the victim).”
Following his eventual release on community supervision from state prison in about two years, should defendant Rogers continue on his latest path of violence or other misconduct that leads to another felony conviction, this most current conviction is characterized as a serious felony by the Legislature and thus will be charged in any future felony prosecution of this defendant as a Strike conviction, within the meaning of California’s voter-modified Three Strikes laws.
Seems to me (not intending guilt or blame) You don’t steal your friends weed, or he might go “Brock Rogers” on you!
I find it interesting this Washington, Humboldt, Potter Valley, Lake County fellow is labeled Covelo Man. That property they murdered the guy for having a dog in heat is tainted with death. Be sure to ask for the reduced price on their dope or land. Covelo Man indeed.
With “FRIENDS” like that who needs enemies ?