A Cortez woman charged with drug distribution, theft and perjury was sentenced Thursday in Montezuma County District Court to 9½ years in jail and prison.
Elizabeth Ann Rogers was sentenced by Chief District Judge Doug Walker to eight years in the Colorado Department of Corrections and 18 months in jail after a plea agreement in the 22nd Judicial District Court in Cortez.
According to the plea agreement, Rogers, 32, pleaded guilty to two counts of Class 3 felony drug distribution and possession, one count of misdemeanor theft of an Airstream trailer from the Dolores Campground and one count of misdemeanor perjury for making a false statement about a drug test.
- According to court records, on Oct. 28 Rogers and co-defendant Chad Blackmore conspired to sell or distribute fentanyl, a potent opioid painkiller.
- On Sept. 1, Rogers, and co-defendant Samuel Clark possessed and distributed meth, a Class 3 drug felony, records show.
The guilty plea for the felony drug charge originated from an incident Sept. 1, when Rogers was arrested with 145 counterfeit OxyContin pills and 32.2 grams of suspected meth at the Maverik Adventure’s First Stop on U.S. Highway 491 north of Cortez. The counterfeit pills were suspected to include fentanyl, according to investigators cited in the arrest affidavit.
- On Aug. 12, 2020, Rogers was involved in the theft and subsequent sale of a 1953 Airstream Trailer from the Dolores River Campground in Dolores.
According to court documents, Rogers sold the trailer to a vintage dealer in California for $7,500. But a few days later, the buyer saw social media posts about its disappearance and contacted the Dolores owners, who drove out and retrieved it.
- On Nov. 17, Rogers submitted a fictitious drug use test to the court.
Walker denied a request by Rogers’ attorney Barrie Newberger-King for a sentence to Community Corrections at Hilltop House, a halfway house in Durango.
Based on her criminal history, Rogers has failed at probation and ran away from Hilltop House after a previous sentence, Walker said.
“Rehabilitation has not been in the cards. The only way to protect the public is to send her away, and that is what I intend to do,” he said.
Rogers was sentenced to four years in prison for each of the two felony drug distribution convictions, with sentences to run consecutively.
For the misdemeanor counts of theft and perjury, Rogers received an 18-month sentence in county jail, which will run consecutively to the prison sentence for a total of 9½ years of incarceration.
She was ordered to pay $3,700 in restitution for costs incurred from the Airstream theft.
Rogers apologized to the court and community for the crimes committed. She said she has “lost everything” got into a pattern of “self-sabotage” and has struggled with drug addiction.
Victor Galarza, a detective with the Montezuma-Cortez Narcotics Investigation Team, who investigated Rogers’ cases, said her stiff sentence sends a message.
“It is a great victory for the community and shows law enforcement, the judge and the District Attorney’s Office do not take drug distribution cases lightly, we are going after these individuals to keep this poison away from our community,” he said.
