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Wounded county investigator and a police dog

Lavar Rodgers of Salem City has been indicted on first-degree charges of attempted murder and kidnapping in connection with an incident last year in which he allegedly held his girlfriend and her three children hostage and fired on responding law enforcement officers, wounding a county investigator and a police dog.

State Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor said Thursday that Rodgers, 25, is named in a 29-count state grand jury indictment charging him with multiple counts of kidnapping, attempted murder, aggravated assault, and weapons offenses. Rodgers is also charged with purposefully injuring a police dog.

“The law enforcement officers in this case responded with great courage in circumstances that were extremely dangerous and challenging,” state Attorney General Jeffrey S. Chiesa said. “I commend them for their calm professionalism. To protect the public and officers who put their lives on the line each day, we will prosecute this type of violent offender to the full extent of the law.”

“The allegations in this indictment reveal a man who poses a grave threat to those close to him, to law enforcement officers and to the community at large,” Taylor said. “We will vigorously prosecute this case to keep him incarcerated, where he will not pose such a threat.”

The charges stem from an investigation by the Attorney General’s Shooting Response Team into an incident on Jan. 26. The investigation determined that Rodgers allegedly took his girlfriend and her three children, all under age 4, against their will and held them at gunpoint inside the row home they shared in the 300 block of East Broadway in Salem City.

Officers from the Salem County prosecutor’s office, Salem County sheriff’s office and Salem City police initially responded to the home about 3 p.m. in blizzard-like conditions. Fearing for the safety of the woman and her children, a decision was made to have officers enter the home.

Four officers entered the home: Salem City police Lt. Robert Eller, Senior Investigator Stephen Dick of the prosecutor’s office, and Officers William Robinson and Walter Christy of the Salem City police. Robinson was accompanied by his K-9 unit dog, Jordan, a German shepherd. As soon as the officers entered, Rodgers allegedly fired three shots, wounding Dick in the shoulder and wounding the dog in the chest. Dick and Robinson both returned fire, but Rodgers was not hit. Rodgers remained in the house with his hostages.

Police attempted to negotiate with Rodgers, and the girlfriend and children emerged from the house over the next few hours. The standoff continued until early morning, when members of the State Police Technical Emergency and Mission Specialists (TEAMS) Unit fired pepper gas into the home, and subsequently entered and searched the home and an adjacent row home. Rodgers was found hiding in the adjacent home and was arrested without further incident. Police recovered a .45-caliber handgun in the home where Rodgers was found, and recovered the gun he allegedly fired at the officers in the girlfriend’s home.

The investigator and the dog both recovered from their wounds. Rodgers remains in the Salem County Jail with bail set at $500,000.