L0405-163 (15x22, web)
<pc>Contributed
<cl>A surveillance photo of Rogers in the BB&T bank in Ashburn.
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<1b> By Erika Jacobson
<2b>The Connection
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The Kentucky man who pleaded guilty to robbing two Loudoun banks last year was sentenced to 18 years in prison Tuesday, May 29.
Judge James H. Chamblin sentenced Geoffrey Logan Rogers, 42, to nine years for each of the two Loudoun robberies. Chamblin ordered the sentences to run consecutively, with one year of post-incarceration monitoring.
"I believe the judge carefully considered all the arguments of counsel," Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Sean Morgan, who prosecuted the case, said. "Particularly in view of the concern that this defendant has numerous convictions on his record."
Under the state sentencing guidelines Rogers faced between five years to life in prison for his involvement in the crime. Rogers' partner in the crimes, Ronald Michael Young, 35, was found guilt by a jury Feb. 8. The jury recommended Young serve 40 years for robbery and conspiracy to commit a felony for the robberies of banks in Ashburn and Sterling that occurred only hours apart last year.
"I believe [the sentence] was appropriate, given his previous record and the number of robberies in this series," Morgan said.
ROGERS AND YOUNG, who is from Manassas, were charged with a series of robberies in Loudoun and Fairfax counties beginning in Fairfax on March 17, 2006. The two Loudoun robberies, at the BB&T bank in Ashburn’s Junction Plaza and the Provident bank in Sterling ’s Commonwealth Plaza, were the last of the five robberies.
April 6, a Fairfax county judge sentenced Rogers to 24 years in prison for the Fairfax robberies. Chamblin also ruled that Rogers' Loudoun sentence would run consecutively with his Fairfax sentence. Young was found guilty of the Fairfax County robberies early last month.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, Rogers entered the banks while Young waited outside in the car the two used to get away. While Rogers did not brandish a firearm during the robberies, in at least one of the banks he indicated that he was carrying one.
Rogers removed close to $5,000 from the Ashburn bank and $1,905 from the Sterling bank, Morgan said.
ROGERS WAS scheduled to stand trial for the Loudoun robberies in April, but decided to plead guilty instead. At the time, Commonwealth’s Attorney James Plowman said, Rogers' plea change did not stem from any changes in the case.
Plowman said the decision to change his plea to guilty was made solely by Rogers and his attorney.
"There was no sentence recommendation from us," he said. "There was no plea agreement from us."
In March, Chamblin granted Rogers' attorney Loudoun public defender Bonnie Hoffman’s motion to suppress Rogers' possessions that were given to investigators by Young’s wife.
"There has been no argument about the significance of the fact that Mrs. Young voluntarily turned them over to police," Chamblin said at the motion hearing. "She knew why the police were there; she knew they were looking for Mr. Rogers."
Rogers had been staying at the Youngs' apartment, but Chamblin said that did not mean Rogers' had lost his right to privacy.
"It doesn’t rise to the belief that Mr. and Mrs. Young had the right to hand over Mr. Rogers’ bags," he said.
That same day, Chamblin postponed sentencing Young in order to learn the outcome of Rogers' trial. Young is set to be sentenced Friday, June 15, at 9 a.m.