San Angelo Car Salesman Pushed a Pound of Meth a Day

 

JUNCTION, TX --  Shaelan Derek Rodgers pleaded guilty to engaging in organized criminal activity on May 8, 2018 in 452nd District Court in Junction, the county seat of Kimble County, and was sentenced Monday by District Judge Robert Hofmann.  

Rodgers was a car salesman at All American Chevrolet and All American Dodge in San Angelo.  He was indicted by a Kimble County Grand Jury on June 30, 2017 for organized criminal activity by conspiring to deliver a controlled substance, methamphetamine, in several West Texas counties.  Testimony showed that Rodgers at times would push up to a pound of methamphetamine a day in four counties; Tom Green, Concho, Menard and Kimble.

The first degree felony is punishable by 5 - 99 years or life in prison and a $10,000 fine.  Because Rodgers' charges were not enhanced by prior felony convictions, he was eligible for deferred adjudication probation.  

The 47-paragraph indictment named 12 co-conspirators including Rodgers, Gabriel Escamilla, Susan Meacham, Sherry Ladd, Marybell Anguiano, Leroy Anguiano, Lisa Lombrana, Micah Meador, Timothy Rios, Dean Gonzalez, Randall Ruiz and Patricia Hensley.  

The courtroom in the Kimble County Courthouse is on the second floor of the 114 year old building.  The walls are painted a faded light blue and there are curtains covering windows on three sides of the courtroom.  The room is wider, but not as long as the large courtroom in the Tom Green County Courthouse. The low hum of the air conditioner was constant as it tried to keep the heat out of the courthouse surrounded by ancient pecan trees.   

Assistant 452nd District Attorney Luke Davis called seven witnesses for the prosecution Monday morning in Junction. First on the stand was Kimble County Sheriff Hilario Cantu.  Cantu testified that methamphetamine is a huge problem in rural counties in Texas including Kimble County where the root of most criminal activity is drug possession and property crimes to get money for drugs.  

Texas Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigation Division investigator John Cox testified next.  Cox told the court Rodgers was part of a larger investigation into the manufacture and delivery of meth. Cox arrested Rodgers at his home on Duckworth Rd in northeastern Tom Green County.  Cox said that in a recorded phone call from the Tom Green County Jail, Rodgers told his mother to go to his house and remove some ‘stuff’ from his house that would get him into even more trouble.  

Cox described Rodgers' meth distribution ring as significant in size.  

Randall Ruiz was then called to the stand for the prosecution.  Ruiz is a co-conspirator who took a plea deal. He described how on August 12, 2016 he and 17-year-old Shay Valdez of Menard drove to San Angelo to buy meth from Rodgers.  They smoked meth with Rodgers and then drove back to Menard. Valdez later that day died of a drug overdose.

Then Marybell Anguiano of Junction took the stand.  She testified that she would pick up meth from Rodgers for her personal use and take some back to Junction to sell.  She would then transfer money to Rodgers via Western Union.  Court documents show Rodgers and his co-conspirators communicated dozens of times over Facebook messenger. 

San Angelo Police Detective Chris Chappa took the stand after Anguiano.  Chappa testified that he interviewed Rodgers who admitted that his supplier was Gilbert Martinez, known as “Chuco,” who got his methamphetamine from drug cartels in Mexico.  Rodgers told Detective Chappa he received one pound of meth from Chuco more than ten times and one half pound of meth over 20 times.  Chappa testified that Rodgers said in his interview that he charged $600 per ounce of methamphetamine.  That's $9,600 per pound.  Testimony showed Rodgers was charged with pushing meth for 401 days from May 25, 2016 to January 25, 2017. At $9,600  per pound per day that equates to $3,849,600.  

Concho County Sheriff’s Deputy Stephen Jones testified next.  Jones was dispatched to a domestic dispute on Feb. 4, 2018 to Rodger’s mother’s house in Eden.  Rodgers was outside waiving a gun and threatening to shoot any officer who responded. Rodgers left the house and drove to the Sheriff’s dispatch office in Eden where Rodger’s sister was the dispatcher.  He yelled at her and she later testified he had a gun. Deputy Jones said they didn’t attempt take Rodgers into custody because he had said he wanted them to shoot him; they suspected he was attempting to "commit suicide by cop."

Rodgers was arrested without incident the next day.  

The final witness for the prosecution was Texas Parks and Wildlife Game Warden Jacob Crumpton, who lived next door to Rodger’s mother in Eden.  He testified that he received a message the night of Feb. 4 from law enforcement that Rodgers was outside his house with a gun. Crumpton got his pregnant wife and his two children into a back bedroom and then armed himself and waited in his living room all night.  Rodgers left the scene that night, but Crumpton took his family out of the Concho County for safety.

Davis rested the state’s case at 11:37 a.m Monday morning.

Defense Attorney Fred Brigman called six witnesses in Rodger’s defense including Rodgers himself.  

Rodgers’s mother testified that he was a good man and a good father until his own father died in 2016 and his wife divorced him the same year.  She said she had no idea that he was using or selling drugs. Rodgers cried and rocked back in forth in his chair as his mother took the stand.

Also testifying about Rodger’s character was his lifelong friend, San Angeloan Freddie Gonzalez who testified Rodgers deserved probation and treatment for drug addiction.  Tiffany Ortega is related to Rodgers by marriage and also testified she had no idea he was using or dealing drugs. Bradley Gandy is Rodger’s cousin who lives in Eden. He also testified Rodgers was a good man with a drug problem.  

Rodger’s ex-wife was next to testify in his defense.  She said he always had a good job and paid child support until he was arrested.  

Shaelan Rodgers was the final witness to take the witness stand in his own defense.  He cried on the stand describing how meth destroys your body and mind. He said he never stopped using from the first night he smoked meth with his cousin, Gabriel Escamilla.  He pleaded with the court to sentence him to probation and drug treatment. “I don’t know what I am, sir. I am lost. I deserve probation with help.” Rodgers said.

Following closing arguments, sentencing was up to District Judge Hofmann.  

Judge Hofmann had Rodgers stand up.  He told the 34-year-old that he found him guilty as charged.  Then the Judge said, “I see by your record that you are about to turn 35-years-old, so I’m sentencing you to 35 years in prison.” 

The Judge also ordered Rodgers to pay a $10,000 fine. 

Rodgers was taken into custody in the courtroom by Kimble County Sheriff's Deputies and was transported to the Kimble County Jail in Junction to begin his sentence.  

Rodgers is facing a jury trial in Tom Green County in July for drug charges.  

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Judge Hoffman deserves one for tough punishment of another purveyor of poison. First offense, best I could determine, and a straight 35 years in the pen, no probation plus $10,000 fine. So much for his white privilege.
We should all be glad he got put away before someone other than Rodgers died.

His white privilege card was punched while not being shot, and being arrested the next day after threatening law enforcement with a weapon, and driving to another location and probably doing the same thing.

Yeah, but I don't recall any incidents here locally in which our police went overboard with a person in a racially motivated situation either.

Did you forget about the guy set on fire? Or the "suicide" in the target parking lot? But never the less, had someone of a different privilege done the same thing, I'm not a betting man but I'd wager it would have ended different.

I thought it was Valdez that died, anyway, yes, it's good to see some harsh punishment doled out... San Angelo has been fairly lenient for some time now with drug convictions, it wouldn't hurt my feelings to see our judge's follow Hofmann's example. Drug dealing is a huge problem in and of itself, one that has a lot of other repercussions stemming from it.

Cajun, does white privilege run out that easily? In all the arguments I've heard about it, they say you can never be rid of it.

Apparently it can if you go on trial for mega meth dealing in Junction.
In response to a question you posed in an earlier post, you asked if anyone could name one case where a white person cried racism. Actually it became rather commonplace in the late 70's and 80's with the implementation of Affirmative Action primarily in the Civil Services in the Northeast. Firefighters and police hopefuls were taking and scoring highly on entrance exams, only to be passed over to hire black candidates who scored poorly or even failed, in order to fulfill a governmental mandate to increase the number of minorities within the ranks. Yes, there was some whining and crying about it, but eventually most dept's were relieved of the mandate, yet continued to hire deserving minority candidates.

I believe it... There have been many hiccups in our countries past, getting thing's figured out. Today we live in a country, where every man has the same rights by law, and that's a good thing. I just can't wrap my head around how folks thought that racism and hatred would die and no longer be an evil when we got to that point.

Cannot be legislated out of existence. I just wish I could hear some minorities state that their lives are better and they have more opportunities than did their parents or grandparents.

"He cried on the stand describing how meth destroys your body and mind. He said he never stopped using from the first night he smoked meth with his cousin, Gabriel Escamilla. He pleaded with the court to sentence him to probation and drug treatment. “I don’t know what I am, sir. I am lost. I deserve probation with help.” Rodgers said.

Garbage. I have a stepson who developed a fondness for crack cocaine after one use. He has gone on to spend most of his adult life in prison, which is where he is now. I recall a conversation he and I had during one of the times he lived with me and his mother, and I made the comment, "Anybody who uses that stuff even once is an idiot." He got all puffed up and replied, "You just don't know how good it feels."

I paused and finally said, "Fine. But it totally screwed up your life, didn't it?" To that he had no response.

No sympathy here, in either case.

I agree... It is plain to see that racism does exist, but we have laws defending those who face it now... At least those who aren't white.

I had a black friend that came to work with me for a couple of years, he was from Ft. Worth. The guy did a 12 year stint for murder. Anyway, he was driving down Sherwood when he had a conflict with another driver, the other guy threw the "N" word out in an exchange of words. My buddy decided to park at the next red light, walk up to the guys car, and punch him in the face before calmly walking back to his car. I told him that this wasn't Ft. Worth and advised him to use his brain, not his fists next time.

I wouldn't have punched the guy over words, but I can see how pain is a great teacher to a fool.

Yep, you never know when the minor conflict is going to go way farther than it should have nowadays. I should have stated before that I wasn't in the car with my buddy, he just relayed the story to me at work the next day. I don't hang around guys that act that way... I know that it might cause me trouble that I don't need.

I haven't had to use my fists on anyone for 11 years now and I don't plan on using them anytime soon, although I do recommend knowing how to use them proficiently... Maybe that's why I haven't had conflicts that lead to something serious... I use verbal judo to deescalate because I don't want a physical altercation, I'm pretty confident in my abilities in the realm of fisticuffs and I don't foresee myself coming out of any situation on the bottom, but it's not worth getting into a fight just because I can, I have nothing to prove.

To be honest, the thing that scares me the most, is the guy that doesn't want to let something go... After all, you can only avoid so much when faced with a motivated instigator... Also, I have my family to worry about in any given situation, I don't want to be the prideful idiot that gets lured into a fight, leaving me distracted from being able to watch out for dangers posed to my family. I guess that's why I don't understand it when some dude goes and gets himself into trouble with the law over something the law could handle, regarding a crime against his family. If your goal is to protect your family, you can't do it from jail after teaching one guy a lesson, therefore leaving your family unprotected for the duration of your jail time... Stupid logic at it's finest.

I remember both, and yeah, we all know you like to bellyache and carry on about controversial topics Salt... Anyone can blow their horn about how white people have different stature, due to the color of their skin, than all others. Here's something a lot of folks wont do, they won't go read the article I posted about the topic... If you had, you would understand what I do and don't agree with concerning the topic. Boil it down and it's not all about skin color, that's just one factor in the formula buddy.

I have more than once been treated different thanks to the color of my skin. I can admit It. Born and raised in Texas, I can distinguish between "dog whistles" and "code words" and "the formula". End rant.

Me too, guess what? We're all still here. We have to live with both, the things we like, and those we don't in this life. Not sure what being raised in Texas has to do with any of those distinction's, but hey, I have to live with people I don't understand sometime's.

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