ROGERS HOPES TO BEAT CHARGE IN VALLEY DEATH.Byline: Peter Hartlaub Daily News Staff Writer Glen Rogers has already been sentenced to the electric chair in Florida and could face a similar fate in California, but he still hasn't given up hope that one day he'll be free. Rogers, dubbed the ``Cross-Country Killer,'' now faces charges he lured Sandra Gallagher, 34, out of a Van Nuys bar then raped, strangled stran·gle v. stran·gled, stran·gling, stran·gles v.tr. 1. a. To kill by squeezing the throat so as to choke or suffocate; throttle. b. and set fire to her. He pleaded not guilty to murder Thursday in downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area. The sprawling, multi-centered megacity is such that its downtown core is often considered just another district like Hollywood or and was brimming with optimism that he can beat the rap. ``You couldn't indict in·dict tr.v. in·dict·ed, in·dict·ing, in·dicts 1. To accuse of wrongdoing; charge: a book that indicts modern values. 2. me for jaywalking jay·walk intr.v. jay·walked, jay·walk·ing, jay·walks To cross a street illegally or in a reckless manner. [From jay2, inexperienced person. with the evidence that they've presented me,'' he said Saturday afternoon in his first jail-house interview since he was extradited from Florida on Oct. 29. Gallagher's mother, Jan Baxter, scoffed at Rogers' claims. ``I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. anybody in prison yet who says they're guilty, (but) there's too much evidence against him,'' Baxter said Saturday. ``The way I feel about it, he has more rights than we have. My daughter didn't have the right to appeal whether she died or not.'' Prosecutors contend Rogers, 36, offered Gallagher a ride to her Santa Monica Santa Monica (săn`tə mŏn`ĭkə), city (1990 pop. 86,905), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on Santa Monica Bay; inc. 1886. Tourism and retailing are important, and the city has motion-picture, biotechnology, and software industries. home from McRed's Bar in October 1995 and then killed the mother of three before taking off on a cross-country murder spree that resulted in three other deaths. The former carnival worker said he didn't kill Gallagher - or anybody else for that matter - and doesn't even know if he ever met her. ``I'm not guilty,'' Rogers said, when asked if he is responsible for any of the deaths police have tied him to. ``The only felony on my record is forgery,'' he said, hopeful that the Florida murder conviction would be overturned. When Rogers was captured three years ago Friday, authorities said he threw a beer can at a patrolman before embarking on a 100 mph chase and blasting through a road block. That same defiant attitude surfaces today, but it's channeled into the written word, on his legal motions and appeals. Rogers claims he completed a legal aid course in Florida and can pretty much handle his own case. ``I talk to my lawyer and work on my defense,'' Rogers said. ``That's how I spend my time here.'' Rogers spoke from a phone booth-sized cubicle in the Men's Central Jail visitors center. He was not handcuffed for the interview but is being kept away from the jail's general population. Gone is the long blond hair and scraggly scrag·gly adj. scrag·gli·er, scrag·gli·est Ragged; unkempt. Adj. 1. scraggly - lacking neatness or order; "the old man's scraggly beard"; "a scraggly little path to the door" red beard (Zool.) a bright red sponge (Microciona prolifera), common on oyster shells and stones. See also: Red that he wore during his cross-country run from the law that ended in Kentucky. The new Glen Rogers has a close-cropped hairstyle and neatly trimmed moustache, with no sign of stubble on his pale jaw. He pleaded not guilty Thursday to the Gallagher murder during his appearance before Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. Superior Court Judge John Reid John Reid may refer to:
Authorities said Thursday they still haven't decided whether they will seek the death penalty in the California case. A Florida jury found Rogers guilty May 6, 1997, of the stabbing murder of 34-year-old Tina Marie Cribbs in the bathroom of a Tampa hotel. A judge sentenced him to death by electric chair two months later. ``Ms. Cribbs was conscious at least long enough to realize her lifeblood was flowing down the bathtub drain and that she could not escape death,'' Circuit Judge Diana Allen said during the July 12 sentencing. The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office has been fighting to get Rogers extradited to California since well before the Florida trial was over. A judge granted the extradition in January, with the understanding that Rogers' sentence will be carried out in Florida. Rogers also gets ``reasonable access'' to the Florida attorneys handling his appeals case. Neither a District Attorney's Office spokesman nor Rogers' public defender public defender, governmental official who represents indigent persons accused of crime. U.S. Supreme Court decisions expanding the right to counsel to pretrial proceedings and holding that a person cannot be sentenced to even one day in jail unless a lawyer was in California could be reached for comment Saturday. Gallagher's family has pushed for the trial in California, fearing that the Florida death sentence might get overturned. Baxter said she isn't upset that California is getting leftovers when it comes to Rogers' prosecution. She was thrilled beyond words when she heard he got the death sentence in Florida. ``That's good; I hope he dies,'' she said. ``I don't care
"Don't Care" is a 1994 (see 1994 in music) single by American death metal band Obituary. where he does it.'' In addition to the slayings in Van Nuys and Florida, Rogers is suspected of killing women in Louisiana and Mississippi. Rogers said his only visitor in Los Angeles has been his brother Claude, who drove up from San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. on Saturday. Rogers said one of his two sons lives in the Los Angeles area, but hasn't come to visit. ``I have pictures,'' he said. ``I haven't seen him in years.'' Also missing are the groupies that hounded him in Florida. Several young men who collect serial-killer signatures and memorabilia made regular visits to Rogers, asking him for autographs that have reportedly been put on sale for $30. ``I don't correspond with people like that,'' he said. ``Hopefully they won't find me here.'' CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO Glen Rogers Hopes for freedom |
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