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For Immediate Release:
For Further Information:
January 12, 2012

Office of The Attorney General
- Jeffrey S. Chiesa, Attorney General
Division of Criminal Justice
- Stephen J. Taylor, Director

Media Inquiries-
Peter Aseltine
609-292-4791


Citizen Inquiries-

609-292-4925
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Salem County Man Indicted on First-Degree Charges of Attempted Murder and Kidnapping in Hostage Incident in Which He Allegedly Fired on Officers, Wounding a County Investigator and Police Dog
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TRENTON – Attorney General Jeffrey S. Chiesa and Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor announced today that a Salem City man was indicted on first-degree charges of attempted murder and kidnapping in connection with an incident last year in which he allegedly held his girlfriend and her three children hostage and fired on responding law enforcement officers, wounding a county investigator and a police dog.

According to Director Taylor, Lavar Rodgers, 25, of Salem City, was named in a 29-count state grand jury indictment returned on Tuesday, Jan. 10, charging him with multiple counts of kidnapping (1st degree), attempted murder (1st degree), aggravated assault (2nd, 3rd and 4th degree), and weapons offenses (2nd degree). Rodgers is also charged with purposefully injuring a police dog, a fourth-degree offense.

“The law enforcement officers in this case responded with great courage in circumstances that were extremely dangerous and challenging,” said Attorney General Chiesa. “I commend them for their calm professionalism. To protect the public and officers who put their lives on the line each day, we will prosecute this type of violent offender to the full extent of the law.”

“The allegations in this indictment reveal a man who poses a grave threat to those close to him, to law enforcement officers and to the community at large,” said Director Taylor. “We will vigorously prosecute this case to keep him incarcerated, where he will not pose such a threat.”

The charges stem from an investigation by the Attorney General’s Shooting Response Team into an incident on Jan. 26, 2011. The investigation determined that Rodgers allegedly took his girlfriend and her three children, all under age 4, against their will and held them at gunpoint inside the row home they shared in the 300 block of East Broadway in Salem City. Officers from the Salem County Prosecutor’s Office, Salem County Sheriff’s Office and Salem City Police Department initially responded to the home about 3 p.m. in blizzard-like conditions. Fearing for the safety of the woman and her children, a decision was made to have officers enter the home.

Four officers entered the home: Salem City Police Lt. Robert Eller, Senior Investigator Stephen Dick of the Salem County Prosecutor’s Office, and Officers William Robinson and Walter Christy of the Salem City Police Department. Robinson was accompanied by his K-9 unit dog, Jordan, a German shepherd. As soon as the officers entered, Rodgers allegedly fired three shots, wounding Dick in the shoulder and wounding the dog in the chest. Dick and Robinson both returned fire, but Rodgers was not hit. Rodgers remained in the house with his hostages.

Police attempted to negotiate with Rodgers, and the girlfriend and children emerged from the house over the next few hours. The standoff continued until early morning, when members of the New Jersey State Police Technical Emergency and Mission Specialists (TEAMS) Unit fired pepper gas into the home, and subsequently entered and searched the home and an adjacent row home. Rodgers was found hiding in the adjacent home and was arrested without further incident. Police recovered a .45-caliber handgun in the home where Rodgers was found, and recovered the gun he allegedly fired at the officers in the girlfriend’s home.

The investigator and the dog both recovered from their wounds. Rodgers remains in the Salem County Jail with bail set at $500,000.

The case was presented to the state grand jury by Deputy Attorney General James Ruberton. The lead detectives for the investigation were Detective Glenn Garrels of the State Police Major Crime Unit and Detective Janessa Jones of the Division of Criminal Justice, who were assigned to the Shooting Response Team.

Rodgers is charged with four counts of first-degree kidnapping and four counts of third-degree criminal restraint, one count of each offense for the girlfriend and one for each of her children. He is also charged with four counts of first-degree attempted murder, one for each of the law enforcement officers who entered the home. He is charged with one or more counts of aggravated assault for each of the officers and hostages. He is charged with weapons offenses in connection with each of the two guns recovered by police.

First-degree kidnapping carries a sentence of 15 to 30 years in state prison, including a period of parole ineligibility equal to 85 percent of the sentence imposed. First-degree attempted murder carries a sentence of 10 to 20 years in prison, including a period of parole ineligibility equal to 85 percent of the sentence imposed. First-degree crimes also carry a fine of up to $200,000. Second-degree crimes carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $150,000 fine; third-degree crimes carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $15,000 fine; and fourth-degree crimes carry a maximum sentence of 18 months in prison and a $10,000 fine. The second-degree weapons and aggravated assault charges also carry mandatory periods of parole ineligibility.

The indictment is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty. The indictment was handed up to Superior Court Judge Linda R. Feinberg in Mercer County, who assigned the case to Salem County.

Under an Attorney General Directive, the Attorney General’s Shooting Response Team, made up of deputy attorneys general, detectives of the Division of Criminal Justice and detectives of the State Police Major Crime Unit, are dispatched to the scene to handle investigations of shooting incidents involving state or county law enforcement officers.

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