Last year I brought my readers the story of John Alexander Rochester who is the son of hanging Judge John Rochester of Alabama's 41st Circuit Court.
To refresh everyone's memory young Mr. Alex Rochester was busted in the Ashland City Park on March 1, 2008 and charged with trafficking drugs. The drugs he was charged with trafficking are as follows; Cocaine, crack cocaine, marijuana, ecstacy, meth and xanax.
The last we heard Alex Rochester had been ferried away, under his mothers skirts, to a posh treatment center called The Arbor where he was to remain for a year. Young Rochester's MySpace page states that he is currently in college. His Facebook page doesn't say much but does have a photo of him.
Yesterday I was able to come by John Alexander Rochester's case file and, I hate to tell you, but what I predicted would happen has happened. No surprise really. Regular working folks kids go to prison for years and years on charges like this. The Judge's son gets off scot free.
John Alexander Rochester was allowed to plea all of the trafficking charges down to simple possession charges and he received five years probation. He is walking around free. The arrest report states that he and his friend were passed out at the Ashland City Park at 12:56 a.m. The arresting officer smelled marijuana and conducted a search. While Alex Rochester was attempting to pull his passport out of his pocket a pipe fell out. After the massive amounts of drugs were found Alex Rochester stated according to the police report that "He had bought the drugs in Atlanta and that he would give up the name of the supplier if the fed's would take considerable time off his sentence." Alex Rochester already had two warrants out for his arrest at the time of this arrest. Apparently Daddy never taught him to keep his mouth shut when the cops show up because Alex Rochester squealed like a little pig.
Here is what the case file says about the amount of drugs he was arrested with. You better sit down.
1. Two baggies, envelope, one vial, crack cocaine, powder cocaine Total: 32 grams (1 ounce give or take)
2. 1 gallon bag containing marijuana
3. 5 sandwich baggies containing marijuana. 4 were corners of bags packaged for resale.
4. 1100 Extacy pills in 11 baggies
5. 2 straws, 2 rolled up dollar bills and two pipes.
6. 26 Xanax pills
I'd bet my right arm that NEVER in the history of Alabama has anyone caught with that amount of drugs been allowed to plea down trafficking charges (clearly he was trafficking) to simple possession. And remember...all of those charges carried an additional 3 year mandatory minimum because the arrest occurred withing three miles of a school, church, day care center and public housing facilities. Hell, it happened in the Ashland City Park where all the little children play on the mini-monster trucks and monkey bars. I also wonder how many people are in jail or prison because they bought drugs from Alex Rochester and got caught?
Anyone else would have had bonds in the millions of dollars, had their face plastered all over the front page of the newspaper and would be serving decades in an Alabama prison. In this case, because Alex Rochester's daddy is a judge, he is treated like the fortunate son, given a slap on the wrist and set free. The Clay Times Journal printed only the police blotter when he was arrested and there has to date been absolutely no additional coverage of this major story in the paper.
The court system and the media have failed the citizens of those counties and really all the citizens of the State of Alabama. We expect fairness in our judicial system. Clearly our system has been subverted and the rules thrown out the window because it was a judge's son caught red handed TRAFFICKING HUGE AMOUNTS OF DRUGS.
However, I have a plan to make sure the majority of the citizens of Clay County and Coosa County are made aware of what has happened. I won't say what that plan is because I want it to be a really nasty surprise for the Rochester family. Don't want to spoil the anticipation for them.
Do stay tuned and please DIGG THIS
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106 comments:
I read about this on Fark.com
I think a lot of people are going to know about this.
Thank you for taking on this corruption. It requires courage and fortitude. This is outrageous. I believe many drug crimes should be decriminalized, but until that happens, everyone should be subject to the same rule of law.
Didn't pretty much the same type of thing happen Florida with the Bush daughters being caught with cocaine? No jail time or media covereage, just "go back to your life, citizen"
There never has been and never will be fairness and equality in the justice system in Alabama or any other state because there is no citizen oversight group to keep judges and prosecutors in check who allow this sort of thing to go on. When the revolution comes, these people will be the first against the wall.
Someone put a link to this article on Fark.com, so rest assured, people all over the world (let alone the US!) are reading this and will be following this to see how it plays out!
WTF? Are you kidding me? Speechless.....
Don't hate the player...Hate the game!
I live in AL, and I know people who've gone to jail over a dimebag.
This isn't right. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I just may send this on to my local paper.
The judge should have recused himself for MASSIVE conflicts of interest...
Why the f*** won't the mainstream media cover this? And why won't politicians begin talking about fixing our broke ass justice system?
the crime isnt that the kid got off, its that more kids dont. The last thing a kid needs is a wrapsheet. Doing stupid shit as a kid should not fuck with your whole life. You are supposed to do all your dumb shit when you are a kid, when you dont have a house, car and family to lose. Im glad this kid got off, i just wish this judge would do the same for other people's kids.
Yah. Make them pucker up and kiss your ass.
This is DISGUSTING. A police officer from an area close to me was caught, in uniform and in a marked cruiser, brokering a purchase of not even HALF this amount of dope, and even with his attempts to plea (and rat, just like this kid), he is still looking at a minimum of 10 years. And this little buffoon, this repugnant criminal will go free simply because his daddy is a JUDGE?! This story NEEDS to get out. I'm posting this on Craig's List.
Yeah, the kid is an issue, but someone should take a really good look at that judge too. Might be time for him to go on vacation at one of Alabama's wonderful prisons - I'm sure he'll meet some of the previous guests of his court.
We're talking Alabamastan here. Why is anyone surprised?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Wallace
Interesting...
Look who appointed this judge...
Is anybody here REALLY surprised by this story?
It's good to be the king...I mean... judge!
@Anonymous: "Im glad this kid got off, i just wish this judge would do the same for other people's kids."
I wonder if a good defense attorney can cite this case as precedent...
LOL< corruption is bliss!
RT
www.complete-privacy.net.tc
I also read this on Fark and will probably see it mentioned in the Something Awful forums. Oh yeah, people will know about this.
Why is this a big deal? Important and connected people usually get to do what they want.
This Doctor raped his kids and grandkids and got 30 days.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/thompson-rackauckas-years-2582120-sentence-child
Why would we expect the son of a judge to be treated any worse?
The sentence is a bit harsh.
The problem is that it's a bit harsh for EVERYONE, not just the judge's son.
It's time we end this national shame of prohibition. Let's treat drug addition as a disease, and treat recreational use like we treat recreational use of alcohol - or better still, like the Europeans treat recreational use of alcohol.
Legalize and tax drugs. All of them. We could stop talking about a deficit.
Way to go ALABAMA!!
Dear God THATS A LOT OF DRUGS.
Two sets of rules for different people.
Their is a name for that..
I live in Birmingham, I have forwarded this to some friends who are in local news.
If you live in Alabama, please send this to anyone you know in media, lets get this covered.
An Alabama resident here who's seen several friends tried and convicted for far less.
I just forwarded this to the Gadsden Times.
Let's publish exactly WHERE this precious snowflake is (supposedly) attending school.
Perhaps someone there would would be interested in his method of "working his way through college".
No doubt he's STILL plying his trade there. Let's face it, he has learned a valuable lesson: There's nothing wrong with selling dope, since Daddy will always bail his sorry ass out of trouble.
This slimebag deserves to proudly wear a Colombian necktie!
not only that. once a drug dealer always a drug dealer, this goes as far as college students... which this kid is now.
DIGG??? FARK???
Don't you mean REDDIT?
So he's a SNITCH?
im happy he got off. the guy makes it sounds worse than it really is, theres no crack or meth, the kids just trying to party
This is what should happen to small time drug dealers. The drug war is pointless. I'm glad taxpayers aren't feeding and housing this guy for the next 10 years. Let's use this as an example of the proper punishment for drug offenses.
So, yeah, I realize that it is ridiculous that this judge's son got off where a poor black male would have been sent up for life.
When the good ol' boy system gives you lemons, make lemonade.
Meh, this kind of thing happens all the time in the criminal courts. Many times those that decide not to hire private counsel do the time and those that hire private counsel, which then work the hell out of the case, get probation. Also, this kid could have offered substantial assistance with law enforcement which in many cases results in a probationary sentence.
I would agree that his father eng a Judge does make this case appear extraordinary, but I don't think it is that different than all the others. I am speaking from a Florida perspective, so things may in fact be different in other states.
As for the guy that appears to have a personal vendetta against this dumb kid, what is up with that? Are you going after every defendant that gets a good deal or are you only going after him because of who his father is. Last I checked, we don't demonize people because of who their parents are. If you research the issue and find that no one else gets these kind of deals, maybe you should go after the prosecuting authority who made the deal. They are the ones that made the ultimate decision to give this kid a break or not.
why should the kid do time when he's just running errand for daddy.
Thank you for all of your comments.
I am not going after the kid for some sort of personal vendetta. I am going after the criminal justice system in Alabama and that judge in particular. I grew up in that county and have watched that judge send kids to prison for five years for one xanax and the kid had no priors. The judge lines drug defendants up against the wall and makes them piss in a cup even before they have plead to anything or been convicted of anything. He doesn't care much for the pesky jury trials.
I am also not advocating that this kid be placed in jail. I am advocating that all drug defendants be treated the same as this kid was.
And, for the record, I am a woman...not a man.
Boo hoo Waaaah!
Another case of money and power buying freedom.
Do you expect anything less of the justice system that doesn't even give rush limbaugh a slap on the hand for doctor shopping and illegal possession of controlled substances?
So again, cry me a river.
anon...that attitude is why this kind of stuff keeps happening. No one complains about it. The elite try to cover it up and the public...like you.... says, "Well what did you expect?" Is this kind of thing really ok with you?
Starting tomorrow morning I will begin making the media rounds in Alabama covering this story. Hopefully the judge will resign and the feds will investigate. Even if that doesn't happen and this judge decides to run again it will certainly make his election more interesting.
Thank you for this story-you are my new hero! I live in Huntsville and will forward to the Huntsville Times immediately. Thanks again!
This is crazy. Thanks for making people aware about it. I found the link on Fark.com too so more and more people are going to be aware of it.
You said him and his friend were passed out. What happened to his friend?
Unfortunately it's probably more a sign of corruption than a change in drug policy. It would be nice if more people spent less time in jail for drugs and more time in rehab (for hard drugs), and no time at all for marijuana.
jayduba....I have not been able to confirm what happened to the other guy involved. I did hear from a reliable source that the other guy also got treatment instead of jail and has been out for some months now.
I practice law in Toledo Ohio and this plea deal is fairly common here for any middle class person who hires a good lawyer, and has not committed any violent offenses. The fact is the jails are full, and the top priority is to lock up the violent criminals first.
Also, the judge could not have heard a case involving his son, every state has a procedure for bringing in a judge from another part of the state in such situations. Judges and prosecutors are all supervised by the state Bar Association, and any lawyer who becomes aware of corruption is required to snitch or else lose their own license to practice law. Therefore, lawyers are snitching on each other all of the time. The hearings that result from these complaints are not public information unless the lawyer/judge/prosecutor really really messed up and gets disbarred.
Send this to all the local and state media outlets you can. I'm not sure if judges at that level are elected officials or not, but if so, this judge's name and what he did should be all over the place come decision time!! I'm sure you'll get a lot of help trying to relinquish him of his position once the community knows what is going on!
Yeah, it is very annoying that he was treated differently because his dad was a judge. But the REAL problem is that possession shouldn't be a crime for anyone. I'm glad he got off scot free. At least SOMEONE has. If only everyone would be put into rehab for something like this. America and it's insane, draconian prison system is the WORST of all developed nations.
Did he kill anyone? No, did he rape or even HURT anyone? No!!! Yes. Drugs are bad, but systematically putting every drug dealer in prison hurts us all, and only turns him into a worse criminal. Now he'll go to college and get a degree, and maybe he learned a freaking thing or two instead of languishing in prison and getting raped cause he's a pretty boy. The outrage is all misplaced. Though that whole fortunate son thing is undeniably annoying. I want to be one.
Lawyer in Toledo...that plea deal is unheard of here. In fact, I have yet to find another case where anything even remotely close happened when that amount of drugs was involved. In Alabama drug offenders are given incredibly harsh sentences. For example, the first simple possession of marijuana for personal use charge is a misdemeanor. The second and all subsequent ones are felonies with up to a 10 year prison sentence. Down here we have over 30,000 people in a prison system built to hold 12,000 and the state consistently releases child molesters, robbers and murderers so they can stuff more non-violent drug offenders in jail and prison.
Toledo, and most everywhere else on earth, is more progressive than Alabama when it comes to the application of drug laws and the operation of prisons.
Oh yeah, just to clear it up for anyoen who is confused....the Judge in this case was not Alex Rochester's father. A supernumerary judge and prosecutor were called in from the next small town over. Funny thing is the prosecutor had more people on death row in Alabama than any other when he was still practicing. He was notoriously harsh on drug defendants. No one will deny this is a sweetheart of a deal in Alabama and anyone who knows the prosecutor would probably faint if they knew he sullied himself by allowing this deal to go through. He never did it for any other drug defendant.
BTW.. is MySpace page is still accepting direct messages from non-friends. :)
Fark.com.. Boy's a snitch karma's a b*tch it always comes around. But the real story is the judge and lil daddy, corrupt needs to be shackled in the public square or at least bestowed the same punishment they give to marijuana offenders down in alabama.. time to rethink some things eh US Justice System.....
Hi,
I don't have the site traffic of digg or reddit but I'm putting this story on the front page of my site www.hipstr.com - that's messed up and he should have definitely done mandatory time. Unreal!
Seriously, fuck that sack of shit. He should go to jail for 1000 years I don't give a fuck who his fucking daddy is.
Any evidence of the father's interference in the prosecution? As was earlier noted, he can't have been the presiding judge. When accusing people of corruption, it is customary to bring more than circumstantial evidence. The judge's status would matter to a prosecutor, but that cuts both ways...some prosecutors would relish thrashing a punk like this.
And I agree with earlier posters that 5 years probation is not exceptionally lenient, especially if felony convictions were obtained. The kid's year in rehab would have counted for a lot with prosecutors in my jurisdiction, and would have softened the desire to imprison the kid unless he relapses. And that's regardless of the father's judgeship. Of course, the bill for a year of private rehab would be astronomical...I'd bet the judge's hands were clean as to the plea deal, but I'd wonder how he afforded the rehab bill without hanky panky, like an agreement to send the facility lots of fresh meat.
And if you follow the kid for the probation period, you'll likely get the satisfaction of seeing him revoked and jailed and maybe sentenced to time. Felony probation is no picnic, especially for drug users.
For all that, I thought the story was really about shitty parenting, and that the judge was less a culprit than a laughingstock.
The truth needs to come out about this type of imbalance in our legal system, but I hope Alex is allowed to stay free, after all, the only thing he did wrong was being borned to a judge, and standing up for his human right to use and sell substances (hopefully to adults only). Perhaps the judge should realize that if his son should be above the horrible sentencing that comes with drug charges, then so should others. Don't hate Alex, hate the drug laws, and hate the flaws of our legal system.
Arguments on futility of the 'war on drugs' and the lack of justice in the legal system aside, what has this precious little snowflake learned? The lesson for him is that because of the luck of the genetic draw there are no consequences for his actions. He literally has a get out jail free card. That should serve him well in life and make him a better citizen. Good parenting there, daddy.
Reading your bold print i suddenly fear for this kids life. I know whats happening is corrupt, wrong, and complete and utter bull, but as a writer I wouldn't want his blood on my hands.
anon on Feb. 10...That's a bunch of BS. The only persons who will be responsible if something happens to Alex Rochester are Alex Rochester because he chose to engage in drug trafficking and chose to be a snitch to save his own sorry ass at the expense of ruining others lives, and those who are responsible for maintaining drug prohibition laws, which makes these kinds of terrible situations possible.
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Welcome to Clay County AL justice.
A place where sexual favors can get you out of a traffic ticket. Or worse. A drunken police office can murder someone with full knowledge and a willful looking the other direction by the Sheriff at the time(and others).
The murder was common knowledge amongst the citizens here too. Gossip spreads quicker that lightening here. But there is not much we could do about it. Who listens to citizens these days anyway?
Clay County...where upon her election, the Sheriff was threatened with being buried alongside alleged corpses of persons of color. (Heard this from a friend of the Sheriff--my mom.)
Yep. This is a corrupt and dangerous little county. But I would rather live here than the cities I have lived in before.
Of ALL the places I have lived before, Clay county is the LEAST corrupt and LEAST dangerous county I have ever resided in. Pretty sad commentary on the state of the world...don't you think?
Having to find a lesser evil place to raise children. Very sad indeed.
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Does Alabama have any sentencing statistics that would show how out of line this is? I know there are anecdotal examples such as Bruce Shoop getting 3 years for 1 plant.
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