| Inmate name: | Demarquis Rogers |
| Charge description: | Demarquis Rogers was sentenced to 45 years in prison on June 15, 2015 after a jury found him guilty of Burglary of a Habitation with the Intent to Commit Robbery. The 27-year-old Houstonian and two other men brutalized their victim during a home invasion of a Fresno residence in 2013. According to Assistant District Attorney Thomas Pfeiffer, the victims neighbor called the Fort Bend County Sheriffs Office the afternoon of November 20, 2013, after arriving home and hearing the victims cries for help. The victim was severely beaten with his hands and feet bound with plastic zip ties. The victim explained that he had opened the front door after Rogers knocked on it, stating he was a neighbor who had a package for him. The defendant forcibly entered the home along with two additional suspects unknown to the homeowner. The three men assaulted their victim by repeatedly striking his face with closed fists and choking him while using a taser. Rogers and his accomplices then dragged the man from the foyer to a bedroom after which they searched the home. Several items of personal property were stolen along with the victims vehicle. The prosecution called Dr. Mirnat Sami as a witness in the trial, who testified that she performed surgery to repair the victims face. Dr. Sami testified that the mans facial bones were significantly broken, requiring surgical intervention using screws, an artificial mesh implant, and bone grafting. During the punishment phase of the trial, a woman testified that she was the victim of Demarquis Rogers in a violent 2007 robbery of a McDonalds in Harris County. The woman recounted how she was a cashier when a gun-wielding Rogers rushed in, grabbed her by her hair, and pistol-whipped her to the ground. The woman testified that she still has a raised bump on her head and suffers lasting effects from the injury she received eight years ago. Demarquis Rogers is a victim factory and the reason why we lock our doors at night, said lead prosecutor Thomas Pfeiffer. Rogers was tried in the 268th District Court before Judge James H. Shoemake. Burglary of a Habitation in this case is a first-degree felony punishable by 5 99 years, or life, in prison. The minimum was then increased to 15 years due to the defendants prior felony conviction. Additionally, because the jury found that his hands were used as a deadly weapon to commit the crime; Rogers must serve one-half of his sentence before he can be considered for parole. Assistant District Attorneys Thomas Pfeiffer and Alison Gottlieb prosecuted the case. Attorney D. Chris Hesse represented the defendant. |
| Booking location: | Fort Bend County, TX |
