Molino Mom Enters Plea, Faces Up To 15 Years For Husband’s Murder

March 1, 2016

A Molino mom that once claimed a “stand your ground” defense in the murder of her husband is now facing up to 15 years in state prison.

Rebecca A. Rogers, 45, has pleaded no contest to manslaughter for  shooting her husband, 42-year old Jason Lee Rogers in August 2013. According to the State Attorney’s office, sentencing guidelines call for her to receive a sentence of just over nine years when she is sentenced in late April.

Her attorneys previously made a motion to dismiss the case, saying Rogers acted within the parameters of Florida’s self-defense “stand your ground” law. That motion was denied at the local level and by the Florida First District Court of Appeals.

The ruling from the appeals court last June did nott allow her to claim she acted under the “stand you ground” law, but it specifically did not prohibit Rogers from claiming self-defense at trial.

Rebecca Rogers shot her husband twice in the back and once in the head inside the couple’s home in the 3400 block of Highway 29 in Molino. She told a 911 dispatcher that her husband choked her and then she shot him.

Deputies arrived to find Rebecca Rogers standing outside the home. They found Jason Rogers lying unconscious in the back bedroom of the home on his stomach with what appeared to be a gunshot to his  head. According to official reports, he also suffered two other gunshot wounds to the back. He died at a local hospital about two days later.

The couple had four daughters, one of which testified  at a preliminary hearing that her father had several guns in the home. “As far as I know, he was going to get them and he was…my mom believed he was going to kill her. So, she was protecting herself,” she said.

Rogers remains free on a $300,000 bond as she awaits sentencing.

Comments

21 Responses to “Molino Mom Enters Plea, Faces Up To 15 Years For Husband’s Murder”

  1. molino jim on March 2nd, 2016 4:52 pm

    @ Johnny— You are right on this. I’m a retired LEO and can not count the number of calls where the woman was beaten— but due to having little or no where to go and the fear of what the male would do after he got out of jail she would not follow up. The male would have fun drinking up his pay check then get angry that their bills were not paid. I only hope that she will be before a judge who can understand that there may have been much more to this and she was forced to do what she did.

  2. Mike on March 2nd, 2016 2:16 pm

    Women will stay in an abusive relationship if it keeps the bills paid & a roof over their heads. Don’t try to rationalize shooting someone in the back then in the head, you only make yourself appear irrational. Like molinoman said, “I had nowhere to go” cuts no ice nowadays, with all the shelters available.

    I know this sounds harsh, but murder is never an answer. I have a niece that stays with a beater & cheater. I love her, but I have lost respect for her & see her staying with him as a weakness.

    If the man in Ms. Rogers’ case was mental she should have tried getting him committed, & in any case grabbed her kids & ran like hell at the first abuse from him.

    Ladies, you don’t have to stick around & take it. :(

  3. Em on March 2nd, 2016 12:16 pm

    You’re all sick, to think you have nothing better to do with your lives than manipulate scenarios in your mind of what “could’ve or should’ve happened” when in reality you don’t have the slightest idea of what went on and the fact that you think you do just go’s to show how idiotic you are. These are people’s lives and families you’re dealing with not some television show, the people involved have to live with this everyday and after three years of trying to return to a form of normal your repulsive comments help in no way except to remind everyone of something that’s in the past. Coming from a 17 year old, grow up.

  4. nod on March 2nd, 2016 10:33 am

    All ii am saying is once you have stopped them , then anything more is murder. If a cop had done this the would have been wrong and all of you would be calling for his head. Women, get to know the man before you have children with or move inwith them.

  5. somebody on March 2nd, 2016 5:32 am

    Nobody knows how many hours I spent with a gun at my head when my husband was drunk. Various docs saw the results of the times I “fell”. I left when he was finally in jail. I was so scared of him that I used to think if I shot him and didn’t kill him he would kill me. He was in jail for attempting to molest my child. That’s where it goes.
    I changed. Later in life somebody punched me in the head, I put his gun on the end of his nose and told him I kill him if he ever did it again. I called the police to have him removed from my house.they charged me with assault The courts don’t protect women when we stand up for ourselves That’s the real truth. I would love to be on her jury. She should have emptied the gun on him…

  6. Niknak50 on March 1st, 2016 6:31 pm

    Hope I am never asked to sit as juror in a case like this…….it must be tough.

  7. ALM on March 1st, 2016 6:07 pm

    I’m just going to speak my peace one last time this woman is a phenomenal woman a wonderful mother a wonderful sister in a wonderful daughter she would never hurt anybody in her entire life ever she’s never had any other charges she’s always done things for the community she’s taking care of her family she was committed to her grandparents there so much to her that you all do not know why you do not know what was behind closed doors in that house either so you are passing judgement on a woman that dealt with 15 plus years of batteries and was so scared that she can not report it and I know that there’s a lot of you out there that can’t do the same because you are afraid of for your life I don’t understand why you all are saying she needs to get 15 years of life have some compassion you know we we all handle things differently and I’m sure she lives with this every day of her life and it’s not something that she is proud of but this woman did not plead guilty to murder I believe she will give him manslaughter and I pray that she is going to be able to beat out with her children yes be reprimanded because I truly believe she has learned from this this man was a sick individual abusive had mental issues would not get help she tried to help them she loved them and he try to hurt her and threaten to end it and she was scared for her life just like the guy to Mike set up in comments before if he would have gotten ahold of his firearm she would no longer be here so tell me if this was your family and your child what how would you feel seeing and reading the things that you are saying

  8. ALM on March 1st, 2016 5:58 pm

    To Mike..
    Thank you for your comment. No one wants to hear about how he was , and what would he may have done if had gotten a hold of his weapon.
    I myself have been through this with someone and the man you all are defending. He grabbed me by my neck because i refused to allow him to drive drunk with his children I am 5ft 100 pounds he was well over 6 foot. So yes he had issues and most were mental … Please stop with all oh she should get this and that , if you want to sentence people go to school and become a judge.

    Also , what ifnthisnwas you child and they were in fear of their life on a regular basis and it came to such an extreme they were strangled and woke hearing that the person hurting them was gonna end everything and went to where they kept a fire arm and your child felt so much fear she felt she hasn’t on protect ng we self and children. Would you be responding the same way as you are now with the negative? I doubt it!!
    Please don’t say “oh no one would ever do that in my family” guess what , IT CAN

  9. ALM on March 1st, 2016 5:46 pm

    nod -
    So you try to say that if you weren’t scared for your life you wouldn’t shoot and be shooting to kill as in the stand-your-ground law if you got somebody was attacking you or possibly going to kill you and your family ?

  10. nod on March 1st, 2016 3:00 pm

    One shot in the back may have been self-defense, but anything after that, well its murder.

  11. Shay on March 1st, 2016 11:08 am

    Your theory is flawed. I was married to an abuser for 11 yrs. I left after,not killed my abuser,when he attacked my then 5 yr old son. Leave not kill. The children have at least one parent to raise them. Murder is not the solution

  12. Abby on March 1st, 2016 10:34 am

    My heart goes out to her. You will only understand her reasons if you have ever lived in an abusive relationship. I have and it was with a man that the Molino community thought was a saint. He beat me and my daughter and smoked pot every night before he came home from work washed down by a six pack of beer. No one knew his little secrets. Luckily I had family support and I got out of there. I endured 5 years of his behavior and even offered to get him help but he refused. So I feel for her and hope she can put this behind her someday. If I would have stayed longer in my relationship I would be in her shoes.

  13. Esc co leo on March 1st, 2016 10:31 am

    She did not plead guilty to murder. She plead guilty to manslaughter. So yes, 15 years max.

  14. chris on March 1st, 2016 10:06 am

    Shooting somebody in the back is not really defending yourself.

  15. You don't know what your talking about on March 1st, 2016 9:49 am

    This woman was protecting her self, her children and her husband had a long history of being in and out psychiatric treatment for bipolar like symptoms and you are not a judge in a court of law reviewing every last bit of evidence in her case so it is not up to you to make sexist remarks about what type of sentencing she receives. Rebecca is a longtime friend and did what she had to do in that moment to protect herself and her daughters.

  16. Johnny on March 1st, 2016 8:52 am

    I hope she gets 15 years probation, or 5 years house arrest and 10 years probation, because she needs to be around to be a mom and grandmother. She’s not a threat to anyone else now. She was afraid and did the bravest thing she could, defend herself and her family.

  17. bartender on March 1st, 2016 8:45 am

    I know its bad a life was lost but no one knows what went on behind closed doors of that marriage.I was in an abusive relationship for 10 yrs and let me tell you, you can get push to the point of killing. if her kids say it went on then let her go.You can be scared for your life and scared to tell anyone believe me.until you have lived through it dont be so quick to say guilty.whose to say he might have killed her oneday.who knows but a man that beats a woman is not a man.my dad beat my mom growing up so ive seen it on both sides.once you call the cops and the man is out of jail watch out ,they will get you back some how.i pray for her and her kids.shes the one that has to live with killing someone so people dont judge her if you dont know the truth.

  18. BLT on March 1st, 2016 8:14 am

    Yep, I agree with you…you might be wrong.

  19. To Mike on March 1st, 2016 8:14 am

    I know Rebecca and Jason personally.. Lets just say you have no idea what this woman has been through.. He would have shot her had she not shot him first.. he was reaching into a closet where there was a gun.. therefore.. no she does not deserve the death penalty and really she shouldnt even have to spend 15 years in jail for this.. she acted in self defense! I can promise you that!!

  20. molinoman on March 1st, 2016 8:09 am

    It’s hard to claim self defense or stand your ground when you shoot someone in the back and then execution style in the head. I just had LEO the other day tell me if I am going to shoot someone and claim stand your ground make sure they are coming at you and not walking away. Regardless of what she “thinks” he was going after she would have been better off to wait for him to get it and face her.

    This is an unfortunate situation for all involved. If a relationship is abusive people, get out! There is always a better way out before it comes to this. It may not be the ideal way out. Like moving back in with parents, or a battered woman’s shelter, but its better than murder. I just don’t buy the excuse I hear woman make about having no where to go. To the woman, if he hits you once he will do it again. If he hits you once it will get worse down the road. If your relationship is so bad you contemplate killing get out while you can.

    Pensacola Favor House:
    1-850-434-1177

    National Abuse Hotline
    1-800-799-7233

  21. Mike on March 1st, 2016 7:58 am

    15 years for murder…hmm. I might be wrong, but doesn’t murder call for the death penalty? Or is that just for men?Oh, that’s right, only average intelligence type men at that, & only if they were not angry at the victim. Big, dumb, & angry will get you life in prison for brutal murder, just ask Timothy.