Bond denied for Fitzgerald man charged in Macon killing

A man hid in the bushes early on the morning of Sept. 5 when he heard a loud car turning onto Macon's Roy Street and saw its headlights weren't on.

He told a Bibb County deputy that he watched as the silver Honda Civic parked in front of a vacant apartment and the driver removed what appeared to be a body from the trunk, prosecutor Larissa Olliverre said in a Thursday hearing in Bibb County Superior Court.

The witness told the deputy that the Honda's driver took the body inside the apartment and then drove off. Later that morning, he saw the car again, and a man he knew as Russell was cleaning it with bleach, Olliverre said.

Russell Rogers, 38, of Fitzgerald, is charged with murder in the slaying of Sammie Williams of Baxter Avenue in Macon. His lawyer argued Thursday for a bond to be set in the case, but the judge denied the request.

Olliverre said the witness was headed to a nearby Family Dollar when he spotted Rogers cleaning the Honda.

After walking closer, the man saw blood in the trunk, blood on the bumper and a credit card in the car bearing the last name Williams, she said.

Rogers said "he had just killed a man" and the car belonged to the slain man, Olliverre said the witness recounted.

That same day, Bibb County Sheriff's Office investigator David Patterson was dispatched to the apartment in the 2700 block of Roy Street after Williams' body was found on the floor wrapped in blankets, she said.

On Sept. 6, the Florida Highway Patrol tried to pull over Rogers, driving Williams' car, for speeding. He didn't stop but was caught after a short chase and was charged with reckless driving, Olliverre said.

After finding Williams' ID and credit card in the car and finding that the car tag was registered to Williams, the highway patrol called Bibb deputies and asked someone to check on Williams' welfare, she said.

When a trooper asked Rogers what was going on, he volunteered that "he was wanted in Georgia for murder," Olliverre said.

After being read his rights, Rogers additionally admitted to dumping the body in the apartment, she said.

Georgia Department of Corrections records show Rogers served four prison stints between 2003 and 2011 for charges relating to cocaine, forgery, theft and firearms violations in Ben Hill County and neighboring Irwin County.

Olliverre said Rogers, who said he was traveling to Florida to visit his brother, also is wanted in Fitzgerald on several felony charges and a probation violation.

"We believe that he will run to Florida or somewhere else to avoid these murder charges and the other charges," she said Thursday. "We believe he is a risk to reoffend."

Information from Telegraph archives was used in this report. To contact writer Amy Leigh Womack, call 744-4398 or find her on Twitter @awomackmacon.

This story was originally published December 3, 2015 at 5:27 PM with the headline "Bond denied for Fitzgerald man charged in Macon killing ."