THOMASTON — A 25-year-old man who had been convicted in Connecticut on a weapons charge was charged with threatening to bring a gun to the Thomaston Walmart after he shared a video of himself wearing a ski mask and holding an AR-15 rifle.
Jeremy Rogers Photo courtesy of the Knox County Jail
Jeremy H. Rogers, previously of Norwalk, Connecticut, was arrested shortly before 7 p.m. Thursday and charged with felony terrorizing with a dangerous weapon, felony terrorizing and felony possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.
His arrest came after New York State Police alerted police in Rockport that Rogers had sent a video via Facebook messenger to a woman in New York showing him wearing a ski mask and holding an AR-15 rifle. In the video, he is quoted as saying “I’m going to Walmart,” according to an affidavit filed in Knox County Court in Rockland.
A second video showed Rogers, without a mask, making disparaging comments about a woman and pointing a gun at his head, the affidavit said.
Rockport police were alerted because family members said he recently moved to Rockport.
Thomaston police were notified and Police Chief Tim Hoppe said Walmart stores in Thomaston and Augusta were notified. The Thomaston store closed at 9 p.m. Wednesday out of caution, the chief said. The store reopened as usual Thursday.
Hoppe worked with Rockland police to track down Rogers’ location at a residence on Mount Pleasant Street in Rockport.
Another video was then found on Facebook of Rogers shooting the semi-automatic AR-15 rifle into the air on the grounds of the Mount Pleasant Street property.
Police went to the property and found it was heavily fenced with barbed wire atop the fence.
A criminal background check of Rogers found he had convictions in 2016 in Connecticut for criminal possession of a firearm and causing risk of injury to a child, court records show.
The Norwalk Daily Voice reported in 2016 that Rogers was arrested after police responded to a call about a man screaming about food another person in the house had eaten but not paid for. Rogers told police he had two unarmed firearms and ammunition in his closet, a violation of his probation, the news site reported.
Rogers was being held at the Knox County Jail in Rockland in lieu of $50,000 cash bail.
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