Sacto 9-1-1
October 11, 2012
Ask Sacto 911 crime Q&A: Who was convicted of 1980s mutilation-murder in Sacramento?

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: In the mid-1980s, Stephen Rogers was killed in Sacramento. Police found some of his body parts in the trunk of his car while another man was installing a stereo in the car in a Sacramento city alley. Who was convicted and what was the outcome of the trial?
Submitted by: Elizabeth Lady, Elk Grove

ANSWER: Timothy Robert Sugars admitted to the first-degree mutilation-murder of his friend, Stephen M. Rogers, and was sentenced to 27 years to life in prison.

According to stories in The Bee, Sugars was arrested in October 1986 for the slaying and dismemberment of Rogers after Sacramento police found Rogers' severed body parts in the trunk of a car in which Sugars was installing stereo speakers.

After first pleading not guilty, Sugars changed his plea to guilty two months later as part of an agreement that allowed him to avoid the death penalty, which would have been a possibility if he had gone to trial and been convicted.

According to the probation report, Sugars, who had been taking drugs, shot Rogers four times in the head while in the car with him. He then took the body to a deserted area of El Dorado County, where he dismembered it.

Sugars, now 52, is in California State Prison, Solano, in Vacaville.

Have a Sacto 911 question? Submit it here.

About Comments

Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.

What You Should Know About Comments on Sacbee.com

Sacbee.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. (See our full terms of service here.)

Here are some rules of the road:

• Keep your comments civil. Don't insult one another or the subjects of our articles. If you think a comment violates our guidelines click the "report abuse" button to notify the moderators. Responding to the comment will only encourage bad behavior.

• Don't use profanities, vulgarities or hate speech. This is a general interest news site. Sometimes, there are children present. Don't say anything in a way you wouldn't want your own child to hear.

• Do not attack other users; focus your comments on issues, not individuals.

• Stay on topic. Only post comments relevant to the article at hand. If you want to discuss an issue with a specific user, click on his profile name and send him a direct message.

• Do not copy and paste outside material into the comment box.

• Don't repeat the same comment over and over. We heard you the first time.

• Do not use the commenting system for advertising. That's spam and it isn't allowed.

• Don't use all capital letters. That's akin to yelling and not appreciated by the audience.

You should also know that The Sacramento Bee does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "report abuse" button to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at feedback@sacbee.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.

If you submit a comment, the user name of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them, but you may ask our staff to retract one of your comments by sending an email to feedback@sacbee.com. Again, make sure you note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us your profile name.

hide comments
blog comments powered by Disqus


About Sacto 9-1-1

Sacto 9-1-1 is a blog on crime and emergency services news in the Sacramento region.

Send feedback on Sacto 9-1-1 to Assistant Metro Editor Anthony Sorci at asorci@sacbee.com

Subscribe to Breaking News Alerts

FOLLOW US | Get more from sacbee.com | Follow us on Twitter | Become a fan on Facebook | Get news in your inbox | View our mobile versions | e-edition: Print edition online | What our bloggers are saying

Sacto 9-1-1 Q&A

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues. QUESTION: What happened in court to Michael Gomes, who was one of the men accused of the Mariposa County gem heist? Submitted by: Elizabeth, Auburn ANSWER: Michael Anthony Gomes, 43, was arrested in January at his Citrus Heights (Read More)

More Questions and Answers
See all the crime Q&As
Submit your question

May 2013

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
      1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
26 27 28 29 30 31  

Monthly Archives


Kim Minugh on Twitter

Follow "Kim_Minugh" on Twitter

Local Agencies on Twitter

Categories