Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Arson Charges Filed Against Two

Jerome Rodgers and Wade Brown have officially been charged with arson in connection with the burning of M&M Enterprises.

According to court records, charges against the two have been amended. Now, both have been charged with two counts of commercial burglary, one count of residential burglary, one count of arson over $100,000 and two counts of arson between $500 and $2,500.

The arson over $100,000 is a class Y felony, with a sentence of 10-40 years or life in prison.

M&M was burned shortly after midnight on March 3, as was an out building at the old Gurdon Senior Adult Center.

At the time, Clark County Sheriff's deputy Travis Vance spotted a suspicious vehicle, with the driver identified as Brown.

Gurdon City Marshal Don Childres was familiar with the arson pattern, as five buildings had been intentionally burned during the summer of 2000.

Vance radioed the information about the vehicle in, and Childres knew Brown ran around with Rogers. He contacted Vance, asking if anyone else was in the car, giving a description of Rogers.

The description matched, with the exception of the hair, which couldn't be seen as Rogers was wearing a hat.

Vance and Childres went to the Brown home, arriving around 2 a.m., with Brown opening the door. Childres asked who else was there, with Brown responding, "Jerome," according to records.

Childres asked to talk with Rogers, who came to the door and cursed the officers. However, Childres noticed a cut on Rogers' hand, along with residue similar to that found at the fire at the senior citizen's building.

Both were placed under arrest.