FREE ROGERS LACAZE SR.

 

 

The case of Rogers J. LaCaze Sr.
Do you believe when someone has been convicted of a crime they are guilty beyond a reasonable doubt? Had you asked me that question six months ago. I would have said yes! I was very naive to what was really going on in the "Criminal Injustice System." When we read about a crime in a reputable newspaper, or see the news coverage, we mostly assume it's the truth. Why would anyone exaggerate the truth or just out-right omit it? That is a question I never thought to ask. The purpose for this article is to draw attention to "The media slant; brainwashing of the most subtle type."
Before I met Rogers LaCaze, I never questioned the fairness of the judicial system or the slant in the media. That is until now.

This started as a project for an oral presentation (in social problems) on capital punishment. To add realism, I decided to contact a death row prisoner. I went on the Internet and found literally thousands of prisoner pen pal ads. The person that caught my attention was Rogers LaCaze Sr. I wrote and asked him if he would help me with my presentation. I received a reply from him a week or so later. He didn't go into his case at all; he said it was very high profile. Unfortunately, it's what was not publicized that failed to give an accurate summation of the events that led up to the crime.

You may be asking, what led me to believe that a condemned murderer is truly innocent? After reading page after page of trial transcripts and affidavits, I wholeheartedly believe in his innocence. After visiting with Rogers and his family I am even more convinced. It is my desire that I may be able to make you more aware of the prejudice that is created by the sensationalist media.

Roger's co-defendant's obsession for him began a little more than three months before the crime. He met 23-year-old police officer Antoinette Frank after he was badly injured in an unrelated shooting. He was freshly 18, very attractive, and somewhat flattered by an older woman's attention. I believe this is when she set out to pull him into her chaotic world.

Antoinette started giving him money, even offering him her bank card and pin number. She rented him luxury vehicles and bought him expensive clothing. In order to pursue her obsession with Rogers, she purchased them both cell phones and pagers, even though Rogers already had his own pager. She attempted to involve herself in the lives of everyone close to him. Antoinette tried to sabotage his relationships with many of his close friends, especially his daughter's mother, wanting him all to herself. Not being successful is what may have put her into vengeance mode.

Antoinette did not initially allow Rogers to associate with her police friends. Two days before the murders, however, she seemingly flaunted him in front of everyone, even allowing him to drive her squad car. Although Rogers now says, "It was right under my nose the whole time and I couldn't smell it," at the time it didn't occur to him that she might be setting him up.

Rogers was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and one count of first-degree murder of a police officer. The alleged motive for the crime was $10,000, which the Kim Ahn restaurant owners claimed was stolen. What the media failed to tell, is there is no proof this $10,000 even existed, much less that it had been stolen. No money was ever recovered; consequently, the charges of armed robbery were dropped.

Two of the slain victims were the restaurant owner's children. Ages 18 and 20 The other victim was Ronald Williams, a New Orleans police officer who was on a security detail at the Kim Ahn. Antoinette shared this detail, with him and fellow officer Stanley Mollier. It is important to note, that there was no love lost between Antoinette and Williams. In fact, Stanley Mollier testified in Antoinette's trial that she threatened to "take him (Williams) out." Antoinette felt that they were sabotaging her with the restaurant owners and cheating her out of her share of details. These details were important at that time, because the New Orleans Police Department was one of the most under paid forces in the country. Antoinette made approximately $8.65 per hour as a beat cop, while she made $35.00 per hour working security at the restaurant. It's also no surprise to note that Internal Affairs was investigating the mass amount of police corruption that was taking place at that time.

In my opinion this high profile case is one of lies, deceit, and police corruption at the very least. Antoinette Frank is the only police officer ever convicted of killing a fellow officer in the history of the United States. Needless to say, the media attention was enormous, and much of what was reported was erroneous or misleading. What do you think the probability was of jurors in Rogers' trial not being negatively influenced by all the publicity? The judge, nonetheless, denied the defense's motion for a change of venue. It seems virtually impossible that Rogers could have received a fair trial under these circumstances.

While working her scheduled beat, Antoinette called the restaurant several times requesting to work the security detail that evening. Each time she was informed that Williams was working. After she got off duty around 11:15pm she first stopped at home to change clothes. Then she went to pick up Rogers at his home. From there, they proceeded to the Kim Ahn, where Rogers remained in the car while Antoinette went inside to get sodas. They left the restaurant about 11:40pm with plans of going to a midnight movie at a nearby plaza, upon arrival, however, Antoinette decided to skip the movie and go back to the Kim Ahn to eat.

They got back to the restaurant at roughly 12:00am. Their food was ready and in a carryout container when they got there. Antoinette and Rogers sat at a table and began to eat their meal. Rogers wanted to leave shortly there after because an employee was sweeping the floor near their table. Antoinette dropped Rogers off at his home around 12:20am.

Within 10 minutes of arriving at home Rogers contacted his brother. Around 12:40am they left together to pick up a female friend. The three of them went to a local pool hall, where they remained until about 2:00am.

No one knows exactly what Antoinette was doing during this time; though, before the crime, Rogers made several unsuccessful attempts to contact her via their cell phones. At approximately 1:35am Antoinette Frank returned to the Kim Ahn Restaurant with at least one accomplice. The state asserted this was Rogers LaCaze.

Although, Rogers was unsuccessful in reaching Antoinette via their cell phones at 1:44am, he did make contact with her at 1:49am, only one minute after the first 911 call reporting the crime. Rogers and his brother dropped the young lady off at her home at approximately 2:10am.

One of the three survivors was only identified by her first name and was not subpoenaed to testify at the trial. According to Chau, Antoinette Frank came back to the Kim Anh the third time backing her car into a parking spot in the front lot. She approached the front door and shook it, attempting to get in, but the door was locked. Chau was screaming, "Don't open the door! Let me hide the money!" Chau was concerned that Antoinette had come back yet another time, so she ran to the back to hide the money in the microwave oven. When Chau went back toward the front of the restaurant, she was met by Antoinette who was rushing at her and her brother Quoc and pushing them back into the kitchen. With all the commotion going on, it remains to be seen how a trained police officer who was working a security detail in that very restaurant, would not have attempted to intervene.

Everyone except Ronald Williams and his assailant were in the kitchen when the first round of shots was fired. No one saw who shot Ronald Williams. No one even saw who came in behind Antoinette Frank.

After Antoinette heard the shots, she ran into the front. Chau, Quoc and another employee used this opportunity to escape, hiding in the walk in cooler. Two of Chau and Quoc's siblings remained in the kitchen. Antoinette returned to the kitchen with a black male and began rummaging around, as if looking for something. Chau and Quoc heard several more shots being fired. Antoinette later confessed to killing their brother and sister.

Shortly there after, Antoinette and her accomplice left the scene. Chau waited until she saw Antoinette's vehicle leave before she ventured out of hiding to attempt to call 911. The nervous girl was unable to successfully reach 911, so she called a friend and had them call on her behalf. Immediately after, Quoc left the Kim Ahn and called 911 from a nearby friend's house.

According to the State, Antoinette left the Kim Ahn and took Rogers to his home on Cindy Place. Following their scenario, Antoinette proceeded to the 7th district police station on Dwyer Rd. We do know that she traded her personal car for a squad car and returned to the scene of the crime. She arrived there shortly before the first police officers arrived in response to the 911 call. However, the State's theory falls short, because it is highly unlikely that it happened like that. The first 911 call was made at 1:48am. We know that the first police unit to respond was at 1:52am. Cindy Place is 3.4 miles from the Kim Ahn. The 7th district police station is 1.6 miles from Cindy Place, and the 7th district is 2.5 miles from the Kim Ahn Restaurant. Total miles traveled, according to the state, is 7.5 miles.

We know that Antoinette went inside the police station and had a conversation with the desk officer about where she could find keys to a squad car. He pointed her toward the back of the precinct where she located them hanging on a key board. We also know she was inside the Kim Ahn Restaurant before 1:52am. So considering that Antoinette was driving a broken-down 20-year-old Ford Elite on city streets, it hardly seems possible that she drove in excess of 112 miles per hour the entire way. Also, according to their theory, it does not take into account the time it took to drop Rogers off nor go into the police station to get the keys to a squad car. With all that she still managed to make it back to the Kim Ahn well before the first police officers arrived on the scene at 1:52am.

Only 39 minutes after the murders someone used Ronald Williams credit card to purchase gas (pay at the pump) at a self-serve station. Detectives approached the attendant 24 days later and led him into an identification by asking, "Do you see anyone in these pictures you know?" The attendant knew Rogers because he had recently gotten into a heated argument with him after he had made improper sexual innuendoes toward Rogers' lady friend. He certainly had a motive to want to see Rogers behind bars the rest of his life. He identified Rogers as someone he knew, though he stated he didn't know his name. Even so, he acknowledged that he had repeatedly allowed Rogers into unauthorized areas of his workplace. His alleged story 24 days later was that he had seen Rogers pumping gas with an unidentified female passenger with shoulder length hair. If this were true, then who was this unknown female? Antoinette was still at the scene of the crime. And if this attendant had truly seen Rogers, then why didn't he immediately notify the police? After all, Rogers' picture was all over the newspapers and television.

Rogers was at his brother's place watching t.v. when he received a page from his mother. After calling her, he discovered that the police wanted to question him. Rogers spoke with one of the officers and gave him directions to where he was located. They picked him up a short time later and drove him to the police station, arriving at around 4:00am.

Four police detectives played their usually game of attempting to make Rogers sweat before trying to interrogate him. When they finally approached Rogers and questioned him, they were not satisfied with his responses. They repeatedly told him they did not want him to confess to shooting anyone; they just wanted him to place himself at the scene of the crime. Rogers insisted that he absolutely did not participate in this crime in anyway. The detectives became angry and began brutalizing him. Three of the officers watched while the African American detective randomly punched, slapped and kicked Rogers for several hours. After tracing an imprint of Rogers' shoe one of the officers hit him in the head with it. He was also repeatedly smacked in the face with a phonebook.

The beating worsened after Rogers' hands tested negative for gunshot residue. One detective stated, "We know you ain't the shooter, mother fucker. Give us the fucking shooter.' They made Rogers kneel on the floor while his hands were cuffed behind his back. Each time he failed to answer a question to their liking they kicked him in his buttocks.

One of the detectives even left the room after the black detective pulled out a 9-millimeter hand gun. He showed Rogers that the gun was loaded and said, "Put your hands up." Rogers asked why. The detective replied, "You said your cuffs were too tight didn't you?". Rogers said, "No." Then the detective said, "Yeah you did and when I went to loosen them you, reached for my gun."

At this time the detective turned off the lights and placed the barrel of the 9-millimeter hand gun to Rogers' forehead. Fearing for his life, at 8:50am Rogers told them what they wanted to hear. Though Rogers never confessed to shooting anyone, he was coerced into saying that he was at the scene of the crime.

An Orleans Parish Prison nurse examined Rogers after he was beaten into making a false statement. She told Rogers during the examination that she would be willing to testify on his behalf. The defense subpoenaed her and was planning to question her as to the extent of his injuries. When she was called to testify the court was informed that she was en route, but for some unknown reason she was never recalled.

Additional points not addressed in the media:
1) Rogers had 4 alibi witnesses who place him somewhere else at the time of the homicide.
2) Though gunshot residue testing was done on Rogers' hands during interrogation, the negative results there of were never submitted as evidence.
3) Rogers clothing was free from gunshot residue and blood, even though Williams was shot at a distance of 18 inches or less.
4) Though the crime scene was very gory none of the shoe prints at the scene matched Rogers'.
5) The murder weapon and Williams credit card was never recovered.
6) The year this crime occurred was the worst year for corruption in New Orleans. There were at least 10 arrests within the department in 1995.
Defense attorney, Willie Turk, claimed Ronald Williams was under a federal investigation in connection with unspecified crimes. After defense subpoenaed files from the US Attorney's office and the FBI. Judge Marullo cited Turk for contempt court. He sentenced him to the maximum sentence possible. Unfortunately the courts did not allow any testimony concerning allegations of police corruption.
Rogers was largely condemned by slanted media portrayal before he even stepped into the court room. The reality is much of what happened is secret, hidden, lost or under a judge's gag order, and sadly it simply was unreported by the news media. Unfortunately, they do not regularly convey evidence of police and judicial corruption fearing retribution much like what Willie Turk suffered when he tried to bring the truth to light. This mutual back-scratching between the media, police and judicial system is more common than the average person comprehends. This cover-up is in part why Rogers LaCaze is languishing away on death row for a crime he did not commit.

Postscript:

Rogers has been diligently fighting to get his conviction and death sentence overturned and remanded to a new trial. His post-conviction battle is proving difficult because the court cannot locate his entire transcript. Numerous pages of oral testimony are missing as well as an entire day of audio tapes. According to the Louisiana Constitution, Article I, §19, every defendant has the constitutional right to judicial review based on a complete record of the proceedings. In State v. Ford, 338 So.2d 107, 110 (La. 1976), a second-degree murder conviction in which appellate council did not appear as trial council and the court reporter failed to record the testimony of four state witnesses, voir dire, and the State's opening statement, we held: "Without a complete record from which a transcript for appeal may be prepared, a defendant's right of appellate review is rendered meaningless. In the interest of justice requires that the defendant be afforded a new, fully recorded trial."
Please help us free him from
This wrongful conviction.

Contacts us at

Rogers LaCaze Defense Fund INC.

P.O. BOX 516

Baton Rouge, LA 70821

E-mail -rogers.lacaze@yahoo.com

OR

Rogers J. LaCaze Sr.

#356705 D/R A-#3

Louisiana State Prison

Angola, LA 70712

  PLEASE DONATE AND HELP ROGERS FIGHT FOR HIS LIFE.