Morgan County prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty against one of two men charged with capital murder in the brutal 2020 shootings of seven people.
Frederic Allen Rogers, 26, of Woodville, is charged with capital murder in the June 4, 2020 killings in a house on Talucah Road in Valhermoso Springs in eastern Morgan County.
Prosecutors say he and John Michael Legg, 23, were the trigger men in the murders, but they have not signaled yet whether they will seek the same punishment for Legg.
According to court documents filed last month in Morgan County, prosecutors say the crime warrants execution as the murders happened during the commission of a robbery, they were “especially heinous, atrocious, and cruel,” the number of victims and the fact that the killings were intentional.
Assistant District Attorney Garrick Vickery also notified the court that Rogers has no significant history of prior criminal activity.
Both men have been in the Morgan County Jail with no bail since their arrests in Marion County, Oregon, on June 21, 2020.
At a preliminary hearing on Aug. 15, 2021, FBI investigator Chris Hendon testified that Rogers gave a written statement that said he fatally shot James Wayne Benford, 22, of Decatur, Jeramy Roberts, 31, of Athens, Roger Lee Jones Jr., 20, of Decatur, and William Zane Hodgin, 18, of Somerville.
Rogers’ statement, according to Hendon, said Legg was responsible for the shooting deaths of homeowner Tammy England Muzzey, 45, Emily Payne, 21, and Dakota Green, 17, all of Valhermoso Springs.
Authorities found about 60 spent bullet casings in the house, and a witness said all of the victims died of “multiple gunshot wounds.” A small dog was also fatally shot.
According to a search warrant affidavit, a witness said Legg and Rogers were members of a club called “7 Deadly Sins,” which also included at least three of the homicide victims.
Rogers and Legg “became upset, particularly Legg, over the perceived disobedience towards the club and the theft of several of his firearms a few hours before the homicides,” according to the affidavit. “The witness stated that Rogers and Legg stated something to the effect of, ‘We’re going in there by force and wipe the slate clean.’ The witness stated that Rogers and Legg continued to state that the ‘club’ would be dismantled by the end of the night.”
Shortly after the shootings, according to the affidavit, the witness received a text from Rogers that said, “Everything has been dealt with.”
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