Catoosa resident Shane Rogers was arrested June 8 but released the following day after Bradley County authorities, who issued a warrant for his arrest, said he was the wrong Shane Rogers. Upon further investigation, it was revealed police had the right man in custody in the first place, officials said.

Rogers was picked up by the Catoosa County Sheriff’s Department at his home on Tuesday, June 8, after authorities here received a warrant from Bradley County, Tenn., for his arrest on charges of aggravated burglary and theft of property in that county.

However, he was transported to Whitfield County when computer records indicated he was wanted for DUI and two other traffic charges there, according to Catoosa County Sheriff Phil Summers.

Bob Gault, media relations officer with the Bradley County Sheriff’s Department, said that Bradley authorities informed Whitfield and Catoosa authorities on June 9 that the wrong Shane Rogers had been arrested.

He said two Shane Edward Rogers are listed in the Bradley County computer database — one who lives in that county and one who lives in Catoosa.

Friday afternoon, Gault said Bradley County had made a second mistake and the original Shane Rogers of Catoosa was the right suspect, wanted for breaking into his ex-girlfriend’s home in Bradley County and stealing five compact discs.

“The person arrested was the right person,” he said.

Sheriff Summers said the victim in the Bradley robbery called his department and said that Catoosa’s Rogers was the man who is alleged to have burglarized her home.

After Bradley authorities said that the wrong man had been arrested, Summers called them and said they needed to verify their records to make sure they were correct, he said.

Gault said the confusion arose when Bradley employees inadvertently mingled information from the two Rogers files. He said Bradley County’s Rogers had been arrested before, but is not wanted by authorities.

Adding to the confusion is reports from Whitfield County District Attorney Kermit McManus that the charges that brought Rogers to the Whitfield County Jail on June 9 were no longer pending. He said Rogers could not be tried in Whitfield because he had already been tried for those charges relating to a 2002 police chase that started in Catoosa.

Rogers was released June 9, after spending four hours in the Whitfield County Jail, McManus said.

Gault said Bradley is preparing a new arrest warrant for Rogers’ re-arrest.

Summers said he is disappointed by the errant reports from Bradley County.

“If they send us another warrant we’ll do our job,” he said.

Visible suspect

Rogers is no stranger to media attention.

He was severely injured on May 31, 2002, when he led police on a high-speed chase on Interstate 75 south after he was mistaken for a Chattanooga car-jack suspect.

The chase ended in Whitfield County when Catoosa County deputy Jimmy Stockard’s vehicle accidentally struck Rogers in the legs as he attempted to flee on foot. He was hospitalized for six months, undergoing numerous surgeries for injuries he sustained to his back and legs.

The case received national and local media scrutiny after a videotape of Stockard repeatedly striking Rogers in the back after he was injured by the patrol car was released to FOX News Network’s nationally syndicated television program “The O’Reilly Factor.”

A U.S. Department of Justice investigation cleared Stockard of any wrongdoing in the incident.

Rogers filed a civil suit Aug. 23, 2002, in U.S. District Court naming Stockard, Summers, and Whitfield County Deputy Chad Stafford as defendants, and asking for $6 million in damages

Catoosa County’s insurance carrier at the time, The St. Paul Companies, settled the case out of court, but Rogers was only awarded payment for all of his medical bills from the date of the accident through Aug. 26, 2003.

Summers said Rogers was charged in Catoosa County with driving under the influence and fleeing to elude among other traffic violations stemming from the May 2002 police chase.

He said Rogers pled guilty to the charges and was fined and sentenced to probation