Man arrested for shooting at visitor to neighbor’s property

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

Jack Lance Rogers, 56, was arrested yesterday morning on charges of aggravated assault, resisting an officer without violence, and possession of a weapon or ammunition by a convicted felon.

Alachua County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a call at 9:30 p.m. Thursday night from a property on SE CR 2082; the caller reported he had been shot at by a man he identified as Lance Rogers. The victim said he had been walking toward his car when he heard two shots and got into his vehicle. He said he backed his vehicle up, pointed his headlights in the direction of the shots, and saw a white male wearing a brown shirt and pointing a pistol at him. When the victim ducked behind the steering wheel, he heard another shot fired. The victim reported that he yelled, “Stop shooting at me!” and when he looked again, he saw the man grab a beer off a fence post, get in a tow truck, and drive into the woods. The victim said he believed that if the shooter had been sober, he would have been killed.

A woman who lives at the property where the shooting took place said she heard shots and saw a man she knew as Lance Rogers get into a tow truck and drive into the woods.

The Sheriff’s helicopter located a tow truck on the property next door to the shooting location with a hot engine compartment, as if recently driven. A person was seen walking near the tow truck, and then deputies observed the tow truck driving toward them as they were attempting to make contact with that person, who was later identified as Rogers. Rogers was wearing a brown shirt when deputies made contact with him. Rogers did not comply with commands to get on the ground, and he was bitten by a K-9 before being taken into custody.

Rogers is a three-time convicted felon for burglary, battery, and larceny/grand theft.

In the cab of the tow truck, deputies located 2 boxes of ammunition and several shotgun shells. In the engine compartment of the tow truck, they found a .38 revolver and a .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol.