Cellphone video shows a May 25, 2015 attack in which Cuyahoga County prosecutors say Roderick Rogers
Roderick Rogers, and a man who authorities have yet to identify, targeted the victim after watching him buy LeBron James sneakers at the Tower City Center Foot Locker on May 25, 2015.
They followed him on an RTA bus to Cleveland’s East Side and attacked him with a pistol, Assistant Cuyahoga County prosecutor Kelly Needham told O’Donnell Thursday.
Rogers, who was convicted in February of aggravated robbery, felonious assault, kidnapping and weapons charges, apologized to Cuyahoga County Judge John P. O’Donnell for the attack.
“I made a bad decision,” Rogers said, “but I’m really not a bad person.”
O’Donnell praised the courage of the witness to come to police with the video, which was pivotal in identifying Rogers.
Rogers and the other man saw the victim, who had just cashed his paycheck, pull out a wad of cash and pay for the shoes. They followed him on an RTA bus until he got off at East 93rd Street and Union Avenue. Rogers and the other man followed, and attacked him on the street at the busy intersection.
The video shows cars driving by and women standing feet away as Rogers and the unidentified man punched, kicked and wrestled with the victim. Rogers body-slammed the victim to the ground, then the other attacker pulled a pistol and smacked it against the victim’s head as they rifled through his pockets.
The gunman then fired a shot toward the victim’s legs.
The unidentified attacker finally ripped the wad of money out of the man’s back pocket. The unidentified attacker fired another shot at the victim as he and Rogers made their escape.
The gunshots forced a nearby charter elementary school into lockdown, Needham said.
