Dec. 13—A man charged with six counts of capital murder in connection with the 2020 shooting of seven people at a drug house in Valhermoso Springs is mentally competent to stand trial, a Morgan County judge ruled Wednesday.
John Michael Legg, 23, belonged to a motorcycle gang called Seven Deadly Sins when he, along with Frederic Rogers, 26, were invited to 522 Talucah Road for dinner on June 4, 2020, according to preliminary testimony from an FBI special. intermediary.
There, Rogers “covered” the house and its occupants before opening fire on three men in the garage, according to testimony. In a written statement, Rogers said he killed a total of four men: Jeremy Roberts, 31, of Athens, James Wayne Benford, 22, of Decatur, William Zane Hodgin, 18, of Somerville, and Roger Lee Jones Jr., 20, of Decatur, at a home on Talucah Road. The affidavit said Legg fatally shot three women inside the home: Tammy England Muzzey, 45, Emily Brooke Payne, 21, and Dakota Green, 17 – all of Valhermoso Springs.
The Morgan County District Attorney’s Office sought the death penalty for Rogers, who was sentenced by a jury on September 10 to life in prison without parole after a lengthy trial that began in August. During the trial, prosecutors argued that Rogers was the one who shot Groen.
District Attorney Scott Anderson previously said he would also seek the death penalty for Legg. Legg – 19 at the time of the shooting – sought juvenile offender status in the case, but this was denied. He has pleaded not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect.
On Monday, Legg and one of his attorneys, John Berry, appeared in Judge Stephen Brown’s courtroom for a status hearing. Berry told Brown that the court had received Legg’s “psychiatric evaluation” carried out by the JBS Mental Health Authority in Birmingham.
While Alabama law allows defendants to request a jury trial on issues involving mental competency, Berry waived the jury trial and asked Brown to rule on Legg’s competency.
Brown called Legg in front of the bench and asked if he understood the procedure, and Legg said he did. Brown indicated that prosecutors and the defense would be given the opportunity to respond to his competency ruling.
Brown said in his order Wednesday that he will set a date for the capital murder trial at Legg’s next status hearing, scheduled for Jan. 13.
“The legal proceedings will continue without undue delay,” Brown wrote.
After the murders, Rogers and Legg fled to Oregon, where Rogers’ grandmother lived. They were arrested on June 21, 2020 in Marion County, Oregon. They were flown to Birmingham on June 28 and then transferred to the Morgan County Jail.
Legg was charged with second-degree escape in July 2022 after he allegedly put on a trusty uniform and tried to move around the prison complex, although authorities said he never left the building. He remained in jail Thursday without bond.
– david.gambino@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2438.
