YOUNGSTOWN Man is jailed on 3rd driving charge



Many view the need for a license as a 'silly rule,' a prosecutor said.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- It took Demetrus Rogers about six weeks to rack up one gun and three driving-under-suspension charges.
When Rogers' car was pulled over by police this past week, the 34-year-old Arch Street man already had two DUS cases pending in municipal court, with one pretrial set for Wednesday with Judge Elizabeth A. Kobly and the second for Feb. 5 with Judge Robert P. Milich.
In each case, no bond was required -- Rogers had been set free on his own recognizance.
The new charges -- DUS, expired license plate, carrying a concealed weapon and possession of a weapon under disability (based on a prior drug conviction) -- carry bonds that total $46,000 cash or surety. The charges, filed two days ago, are set for Feb. 5, with Judge Milich.
Remained in jail
As of Friday, Rogers hadn't posted bond and remained in the Mahoning County jail.
Records show that Rogers hasn't had a valid license in years and he admitted to police this past week that his license is under suspension.
"Here's a guy who has pretty much decided he doesn't have to comply with the law," Anthony Farris, assistant city prosecutor, said Friday. "Many view having a license as a silly rule, a way for the courts and Bureau of Motor Vehicles to get money."
Records show Rogers was arrested Dec. 9, 2003, on charges of DUS and unauthorized use of a license plate and arrested again on Dec. 29, 2003 on charges of DUS and operating without license plates.
Farris said it's astounding how many drivers with a suspended license draw attention to themselves by violating rules of the road.
When police arrested Rogers for the third time this past week, they noted that his record showed nine license suspensions. He caught officers' attention on Griffith Street because his 1990 Cadillac had no front license plate.
The officers said they found a loaded .357 Magnum revolver inside his coat pocket.
Cocaine possession
Rogers is prohibited from having a firearm based on a 1999 felony possession of cocaine conviction in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court. The 18-month prison sentence was suspended, and he was placed on two years' community control with drug rehabilitation, which he twice violated, records show.
After the second violation, Judge Maureen A. Cronin sentenced Rogers to one year in the county jail in October 2000. She terminated the sentence two months later after a motion from the defense.
Rogers' municipal court records are extensive, with multiple DUS, gun and drug convictions.
meade@vindy.com