Drug court success story praised

During his 30 years of drug addiction, Bob Rogers said, he used and sold a lot of methamphetamine.

But on Monday, people applauded him in Nevada County Drug Court for 28 months of sobriety and for helping some of the people he used to turn on to drugs.

"I've become part of something I once despised. I've joined the human race," the 48-year-old Nevada City resident read from an essay he had written for the occasion.

"Thank you, drug court," said the burly Rogers as he choked back tears. "Thank you for life."

Judge John Darlington handed Rogers a certificate for completing the drug court's treatment program - an alternative to the state criminal justice system for less serious drug offenders. Darlington praised Rogers for "becoming engaged in treatment as a lifelong process."

The packed gallery gave Rogers boisterous applause and the testimonials began, a kind of impromptu Narcotics Anonymous meeting.

"I'm Richard, and I'm an addict," said one man.

"Hi Richard," the entire courtroom chorused in reply.

The man named Richard said he considers Rogers a role model. "Without you thinking you're helping me, you are helping me."

A much younger man in an orange jail jumpsuit and handcuffs fought back tears.

"Phew, I'm scared," the young man said. "Watching you and how you've changed, being in a courtroom that hasn't given up on me - it makes me think recovery's possible for me."

Sheriff's Deputy Jim Cascii, the former narcotics officer whose arrest of Rogers in 2002 sparked Rogers' recovery, shook his hand.

"You give me in criminal law enforcement the renewed faith that programs like this can work," Cascii said.

Rogers' journey from addict to recovery poster boy is unusual, mostly for the happy ending.

A Brooklyn boy, Robert Rogers was a straight-A student until he first smoked marijuana.

"I got high when I was 14 and didn't stop until I was 46," he said.

After a stint in the Air Force, he moved to Nevada County and fell right in with the drug crowd. He began using and selling meth around 1985.

His first wife, Virginia Hall - now a drug-rehab mentor - said she started calling him 'Bob-noxious.'

He was the kind of guy who wore leather and chains and rode a motorcycle. He packed at least two loaded guns everywhere he went, and sometimes as many as nine, Rogers said.

He popped in and out of state prison for convictions on forgery, burglary, armed robbery, weapons and meth.

The last time Rogers got paroled, he came straight back to Nevada County and got high. That's when he met Shelley Hayes, who was out on parole on a meth possession charge. She was supposed to be in the drug court's recovery program, but they'd get high together. It was part of the relationship.

They got married. The legal brushes continued.

"I remember when it was the beginning of the end," Shelley Rogers, 43, said. "Jim Cascii was on our heels. I said, 'Honey, we've got to stop. We need to at least try.' But neither of us could stop."

Cascii busted the two of them on Thanksgiving Eve in 2002. In pictures from that period, Rogers looks old and gaunt. Eventually, they both got into treatment.

They went to Narcotics Anonymous meetings. They received intense individual counseling and marriage counseling - both crucial elements in their recovery, Shelley Rogers said.

Rehabilitation counselors, probation officers and former drug addicts turned mentors supported them.

"They listened. They were always there checking on us, wanting to know what we were doing on a daily basis," Shelley Rogers said.

Through NA's 12-step program, Rogers learned from scratch to deal with his emotions, to care for the feelings of others, to take responsibility for his actions and to seek help from a higher power.

"I've learned I'm not a bad man. I just did bad things because of my addiction," Rogers said.

Now, the Rogers welcome other recovering addicts into their home; four people live with them now. They receive no government money for what they do, which they started a year and a half ago.

They want to form an alumni association for people who have gone through drug court. The planning meeting will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday at Memorial Park in Grass Valley, followed by a barbecue.

"There's a gap between treatment and life," Shelley Rogers said. "We want (the association) to be a buffer because a lot of people fall through the cracks."