2nd murder tied to woman out on bond
Man dies protecting woman charged in March killing
When Alexis Rogers was charged with murder in April, her record consisted of two traffic cases.
Rogers, 19, was driving her mother’s Mercedes on March 20 in the South Valley when her 17-year-old passenger fired shots at another vehicle in a fit of road rage, fatally wounding 16-year-old Efrain Arzate, according to court documents.
Last weekend, she was out on court-ordered supervision and a monetary bond when, prosecutors say, she hosted a party during which a 21-yearold man was shot and killed.
The state is now asking a judge to reconsider Rogers’ conditions of release in the pending murder case.
“Alexis Rogers was allowed back into our community where within weeks she tests positive for cocaine and ultimately a homicide takes place in her driveway during a party at her residence,” Michael Patrick, a spokesman for the District Attorney’s Office, said in an email Tuesday.
Less than 24 hours after the party at the home on Vincent NW, the occupants of more than a dozen vehicles riddled the home with bullets, according to neighbors. No one was injured in that incident.
In Rogers’ initial detention motion, pros-
ecutors said she posed a danger to the community and should be detained until trial. A risk assessment recommended release from jail with no conditions because she had no prior criminal convictions.
In a 12-page order filed May 11, state District Judge Brett Loveless wrote that while prosecutors hadn’t sufficiently shown Rogers was dangerous, they’d proven she was a flight risk.
He imposed court supervision along with a $150,000 bond, and required Rogers to complete an addiction treatment program, as requested by the defense.
Rogers’ attorney, Nicole Moss, said that during the detention hearing defense lawyers emphasized Rogers’ clean record and said she had no idea her passenger planned to shoot into the other vehicle.
“She didn’t know he was going to shoot,” Moss said. “It wasn’t any kind of planned incident. It was very fast, very sudden.”
Rogers’ passenger, Damian Luna, is also facing murder and other charges in that case.
According to a motion to review her conditions of release, Rogers tested positive for cocaine on July 24 and “hosted a ‘house party’ the night of July 28, 2018, at the residence she was residing at while on pre-trial supervision.”
Prosecutors say Rogers “is alleged to have consumed large quantities of alcohol during this party, and to have instigated multiple fights throughout the night.”
“Ultimately, at some point during the party, one of the guests was shot and killed,” prosecutor Joshua Rubin wrote in the motion.
Court documents show Rogers had recently been living at the home on Vincent NW, near Atrisco and 49th. Police say Eduardo Lerma died during a party at that home early Sunday.
Rogers’ attorney said that Lerma died protecting Rogers, who had been knocked unconscious.
“She was attacked that night, and he was stepping up to try to defend her when he was shot and killed,” Moss said. “She is absolutely devastated by the fact that he was killed defending her.”
No arrests have been made in that homicide.
District Judge Cindy Leos is set to hear arguments this afternoon on the state’s request to detain Rogers, who is not in custody.