Hartselle/Priceville graduation photos Page A8
Godfrey to play in North/South softball game Page B1
Hometown newspaper of Bettye English- since 1933
Hartselle Enquirer
50 CENTS
WEDNESDAY, MAY 29, 2024
VOLUME 91, NO. 22
State notifies septuple homicide defendant it seeks death penalty By David Gambino For the Enquirer A Morgan County assistant district attorney notified one of two Hartselle men charged with capital murder in the 2020 slayings of seven people in Valhermoso Springs that the prosecution will seek the death penalty. Frederic Allen Rogers, 26, and his alleged accomplice, John Michael Legg, 23, belonged to a motorcycle gang called “Seven Deadly Sins” when they were invited to a drug house in Valhermoso Springs for a dinner party on June 4, 2020, according to preliminary
hearing testimony from an FBI special agent. There, Rogers “cased” the house and its occupants before opening fire on three men in the garage, according to testimony. In a written statement, he said he killed Jeremy Roberts, 31, of Athens, James Wayne Benford, 22, of Decatur, William Zane Hodgin, 18, of Somerville, and Roger Lee Jones Jr., 20, of Decatur, at a house on Talucah Road. The statement said Legg fatally shot three women at the residence: Tammy England Muzzey, 45, Emily Brooke Payne, 21, and Dakota Green, 17, of Valhermoso Springs.
Legg
Rogers
Both Rogers and Legg have pleaded not guilty by reason of mental illness or defect. In February, Rogers’ attorney Brent Burney requested that the State disclose its intent and reveal all mitigating and aggravating circumstances. In capital cases, an aggravating circumstance is a circumstance that indicates
the defendant, if convicted, should be sentenced to death, according to the Alabama Supreme Court. Mitigating circumstances, on the other hand, indicate that the convicted defendant should be sentenced to life without parole rather than death. Assistant District Attorney Garrick Vickery notified the court on April 30 that the state will seek the death penalty for Rogers, if convicted, and listed four aggravating circumstances and one “possible” mitigating circumstance. “The capital offense was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel compared to
other capital offenses,” Vickery argued. The other three aggravating factors, according to the prosecution, include committing the offense while in the commission of another crime, intentionally causing the death of two or more people by one act, and killing a person as part of a series of intentional killings. Rogers’ possible mitigating circumstance is that he has no significant prior criminal history, according to Vickery. Burney previously told The Decatur Daily that he feels strongly that Rogers’ mitigating circumstances will outweigh the aggravating ones.
Jury selection On behalf of Rogers, Burney on April 24 filed four motions aimed at the jury selection process. He asked the court to remove any potential jurors who may be biased in favor of the death penalty or who knew the victims and/or their families. He also asked that the prosecution be required to disclose any relationships with prospective jurors and any information about prospective jurors that could be favorable to Rogers. Burney argued that it is highly likely District Attorney Scott Anderson or
See STATE, page 5
CAIN nominated for K-Love awards
PHOTO JERONIMO NISA
Chris Shirley, left, and Donnie Kelley of Safe-T-Shelter bring a storm shelter to a house in the Falkville area recently.
By Erica Smith For the Enquirer Now that it is tornado season in north Alabama, a local storm shelter company is seeing twice as many calls for installations, and another local company said they have seen a large influx in commercial sales. “February, March and April I usually get double the calls versus the rest of the year,” said Supercell Shelters Inc. sales representative Angie Eaves. “It always (increases) this time of year. I think it’s anticipation, but anytime there’s tornado watches or warnings, it seems to be an influx of calls.” Supercell is based in Tanner, but their shelters are manufactured in Hartselle. Eaves said people tend to wait until there has been tornadic activity before purchasing a shelter unless it is for a new home being built. She said there is typically a short waiting period for a shelter installation. “Most of our shelters are within two weeks,” Eaves said. “It just depends on which one they order, which could be up to 12 weeks.” Eaves said Supercell has above-ground safe rooms, exterior undergrounds, which are in people’s yards, and shelters under garage floors. “We cut a hole in the concrete in the garage and drop them in. You can park over them and do anything like that,” she said. “It doesn’t take up space. It’s good if you have limited garage space.”
Depending on the type of shelter, they can range in size from 4-by-4 feet to 5-by-8 feet and hold five to 13 people. The prices range from $5,850 to $10,990. Dustin Mitchell, Safe-TShelter chief operating officer, said his Hartselle-based business has been steady for residential shelters, but has seen an increase in commercial shelter sales. “This is what we call our busy season,” he said. “It gets back on everybody’s mind as far as getting a shelter as severe weather starts ramping up. People show more interest and decide that it’s time to buy one.” Mitchell said he thinks the reason residential sales have been steady rather than a large increase is due to the economy. “We’ve been busy, but we just haven’t had the major influx that we typically see this time of year,” he said. “We saw a much bigger influx the last few years in sales this time of year than we did this year.” Another reason for not seeing a large influx, Mitchell said, is how the weather has been. “We’ve had a pretty quiet season this year so far,” he said. “Some other areas of the country have been hit, and that’s where we’ve seen a lot of interest in our commercial side.” Mitchell said they are about two weeks out on residential orders. “We actually do have some inventory, so right now it’s just booked out on what we have on the install on our See STORM, page 2
Obituaries
For full obituaries, see page A-2
• Robert ‘Bob’ Barr • Rickey Ray • Jaqueline ool Tillman
• Linda Garrison • J.. C. ‘Carley’ Atkins • Todd W. Huinker
By Catherine Godbey For the Enquirer The Christian trio CAIN, consisting of siblings Taylor, Madison and
Logan Cain originally from Hartselle, is in the running for two K-Love Fan Awards: group of the year and TV/ streaming impact award. Individuals can vote for the nomi-
nees at klovefanawards.com. Fan voting will run through May 24 at 6 p.m. The awards ceremony will be broadcast on TBN this Friday night.
show them what they are learning in the classroom in real life,” he said. “For a child, this could be the spark they need to ignite a lifelong interest in civics, government and politics. It is quite possible that amongst these
young students are future legislators, governors and maybe even a President and I will proudly say that I knew them when they took their first trip to our state’s Capitol.”
By Staff Reports Students from F.E. Burleson Elementary School had an exciting educational experience this past week as they visited the state capitol in Montgomery. The fourth-grade students were welcomed by Majority Leader Scott Stadthagen, who took the time to engage with the students and provide them with insight into the workings of state government. During the visit, Stadthagen spoke to the students about the legislative process, the importance of civic engagement and the role of state representatives in shaping laws and policies. The interactive session included a tour of the capitol building, allowing students to see firsthand where important decisions affecting Alabama are made. Stadthagen said he has had an open-door policy since his election to the Alabama legislature. These field trips to tour Montgomery give students the opportunity to see state government in action and