Courthouse escapee gets day in court — again
TEXARKANA, Arkansas — A jury was selected Monday to decide the case of a man accused of knocking down his mother and two court bailiffs as he fled the Miller County courthouse in 2015 after being sentenced to 20 years in prison for a drug offense.
DaRoyce Eugene Rodgers, 38, was allowed to lean across a railing separating court staff and the defendant from the audience in a second-floor courtroom to embrace his mother after being sentenced to 20 years for possession with intent to deliver cocaine by a Miller County jury. Rodgers allegedly shoved his mother aside, knocking her to the floor, before fleeing from the courtroom and into downtown Texarkana.
Prosecutors snapped a photo of a single white loafer and a pocket Bible that Rodgers reportedly dropped as he scrambled away.
Two bailiffs who attempted to give chase were injured when they tripped over Rodgers’ mother. Rodgers is facing two counts of battery for allegedly injuring the bailiffs and a charge of escape.
Rodgers managed to elude authorities until September 2015 when he was arrested by U.S. Marshals in Dallas. Rodgers was allegedly in possession of a handgun at the time and spent time dealing with criminal matters in Texas before he was extradited to Arkansas to face the escape and battery charges in Miller County.
Court records show Rodgers was returned to Miller County in 2018.
A jury of six men and six women were chosen to decide the case Monday. Opening arguments and testimony are scheduled to begin Tuesday before Circuit Judge Brent Haltom.
Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Connie Mitchell is representing the state.
Escape is typically punishable in Arkansas by five to 20 years in prison. The battery charges are each punishable by up to six years. Mitchell said Rodgers is being treated as a habitual offender because of prior felony convictions and faces enhanced punishment ranges if convicted.
If found guilty of escape, Rodgers faces five to 30 years in prison. If found guilty of battery, he faces up to 12 years on each of the two charges.