I Told You So

A few months ago I posted about Circuit Court Judge John Rochester's son, John Alexander Rochester, getting busted for trafficking narcotics in Ashland, AL. I also posted some background on Judge Rochester's history of harsh sentences for drug offenders in the past.

I predicted, however, that his son, John Alexander Rochester, would be whisked away to treatment under the cover of darkness and we'd never hear about this case again.

And I was right. On March 21, of this year John Alexander Rochester was bonded out of the Clay County jail by his mother, Linda Rochester and secreted away to a treatment center in Mississippi.

Here are the comments made on one of the posts

"Okay folks, I want you to know this much. John was signed out of the Clay county jail by someone who appeared to be his mother.

The bond amounts were VERY SMALL concerning the charges. For the Distribution of Cocaine and Meth, he had $20,000 bonds- POSTED by one person. Not the way it usually goes. When a bond is posted, it is supposed to have TWO signers, and the property must be worth double what the bond is, liens are counted, and you can only have four bonds signed out at one time. There were at least five charges to my recollection.

People with the same charges have had much larger bonds. Someone accused of not registering as a sex offender got a bond that size.

I am having to go anonymous here because if it is known that I leaked this out, I might make someone angry at me and loose my job.

Don't take my word for it. Demand the public record. You will see it's true.

A few days ago, I heard him order a bonding company loose their license, because they did not come to court, and were not present for what is called a forfeiture case.

I heard later that the company's notice was sent out with only 2 business days notice, and that they sent it to the wrong address.

The law is very clear, a bonding company has 30 days to pay a forfeiture. I was very shocked. They just put someone out of business because of their own screw up, and we wonder why businesses won't come here.

I happen to like that bonding company. They didn't rip people off and only charged ten percent. They came every time they had been called, and were very professionial. I talked to the owner, who told me he had been a bail bondsman for 7 years that he was still searching vigorously for the defendant who failed to appear, and he was very distraught over the situation because his court date for the final forfeiture was set way too early.

It's a shame, I also heard that Judge Rochester had never done that before, and had given Grover Poole bonding over a year to pay a bond, and never revoked them.

Special treatment? Favoritism? You decide."

And another...


John was released on March 21, 2008 on at least 6 different charges. The person who claimed not to be trying to get him out is obviously a liar themselves.

Linda Rochester posted property bonds with her name only on each one as the property holder.

For your information, the Sherrif can allow someone to do that if they so desire. Of course, if you are poor, and have no friends in high places, the jail will require the two property owners. Only the Sherrif or Judge can over rule that.

Either way, I heard that this young man was caught with meth, pot, pills, cocaine, and drug paraphernalia. Serious charges, yes, but he doesn't need help. It sounds like he needs a legal job.
He was a dealer not a user. So what's to help him?

Why would anyone not want him to go to jail for what he was doing? Selling drugs is a crime. The law is the law. Uphold it, or fight for change if you disagree, but in the meantime, you must obey the law. No one is above it.

Another Anonymous

So, on March 21 John Alexander Rochester was released on property bonds totaling $20,000. Usually bonds for narcotics trafficking reach into the hundreds of thousands and sometimes even millions. Only one person, his mother, signed the property bonds and that is not the way it is usually done.

Here is what I want to know.

Who set the bond?

What judge heard the bond case?

Was this done in Clay County?

I'll take a stab at my own questions. The answer to 1 & 2 is most likely Judge George Simpson, a real close friend of Judge John Rochester, who also has a son named Luke who used to stay in trouble with drugs all the time when we were in high school. I guess ole George owed Rochester one since Rochester used to handle his son with kid gloves.

I think the answer to my second question is YES, it probably was done in Clay County which screams to be investigated. It should not have been done in Clay County because of the incestuous nature of the criminal justice system. The judges are friends and have been giving each others kids free rides on drug charges for YEARS. It couldn't have been a fair hearing. Couldn't have been. It should have been moved to a different county or a Judge from a different county should have been brought in to handle this case.

But, no, the rich and powerful have a different set of rules by which they live. Us poor folks get fu**ed, to put it bluntly. Our daddies aren't judges in a small town. We don't have powerful connections.

I tell you what though....today I am going to ask the Judicial Inquiry Commission to open an investigation into this matter. I am SICK TO DEATH of preferential treatment being given to those who have money and power. FORGET THAT! If Judge Rochester can sentence poor folks to prison for committing lesser crimes than his boy then, by god, his boy can do some hard time. This was John Alexander Rochester's second offense involving drugs. He should be in jail like everyone else.

Oh yeah, I heard Senator Jabo Wagoner's son was involved in a drunk driving accident a short time ago in Walker County and the driver of the other car was injured. But, not one mention of it in any newspaper in the state. The media ought to be very ashamed. I'd also like to note that there has been NO media coverage of the Rochester case. I found one mention on a web radio site in Anniston but the Anniston Star has not had any story on this case. I find that repulsive.

Then there was Senator Richard Shelby's son who was busted at the Atlanta Intl' Airport in 1998 for smuggling 13.8 grams of hash into the country from England. Customs found it and fined him $500. Had it been you or me we would have been charged with international drug smuggling and we'd still be in prison.

US Congressman Spencer Bacchus's son was also involved in something drug related a few years ago. He got special treatment.

There are many other cases like this involving rich kids whose daddies are senator's, congressmen or judges from Alabama. Today I will update my list of such cases.

There are 30,000 people in the Alabama prison system. The majority of them were sent there originally for drugs or alcohol. 500 a year were sentenced to prison for marijuana before drug court started in Alabama. But, prison is apparently only for poor people.

I am out to change that, starting now. I will ask that this case be investigated by the Judicial Inquiry Commission and I will begin writing letters to editors across the state in hopes that the media will also begin an investigation. The public pays the salary of these judges, who in turn send kids of the poor members of the public to prison....but let their own kids go free. We have a right to know exactly what went on in this case, who the judge was that set such a low bond, how come it was set so low, if it was done in Clay County and what we can expect to happen to John Alexander Rochester when he is released from rehab in Mississippi.

To Judge Rochester....I will be watching you very closely. Believe that! I am going to be a shrill about this case until I get some answers. How do you sleep at night when you have sentenced so many people to prison for very minor drug infractions yet your drug pushing son is pretty much free at a nice rehab center in Mississippi? This won't stand Judge. When you run for office again I will be the first one to point out what you did for your own son and what you have done to other people's sons and daughters for far lesser infractions. I hope the Judicial Inquiry Commission investigates you and takes action against you. I'd like to see you removed from the bench.

UPDATE: A friend of mine sent me all six case action summaries on this case. John Alexander Rochester was charged with possession of Methyl Amphetamine
and the bond was $20,000, possession of drug paraphernalia bond was $5,000, distribution of a controlled substance bond was $15,000, possession of a controlled substance bond was $15,000, 1st degree possession of marijuana bond was $10,000, trafficking cocaine bond set at $20,000.

Those bonds are so low for those charges it is beyond the pale. And just as I suspected Judge George C. Simpson was the judge in this case. I hope the commenter from one of the earlier posts will let us know which two charges bonds were not paid on when John Alexander Rochester was released to the custody of his mother.

My friend who sent the case action summaries also noted the following..

It appears two are Class B Felonies with a minimum of three years incarceration and the rest are possession cases. Now the mandatory three years for trafficking can be either reduced or it can be split so that the person does not have to actually serve the time.

Now, I grew up in Ashland and I know exactly where he was arrested. The park is within a stones throw of public housing and maybe a mile from both the schools. Will there be enhancements added to his sentence like everyone else's? I see no mention of enhancements in the case action summaries.

Does anyone know where he is now? Is he still in treatment in Mississippi? Is he out? When will the grand jury convene and decide whether or not to indict him?








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More on Judge Rochester's Son

Yesterday I posted about Circuit Court Judge John Rochester's son, John Alexander Rochester, being charged with drug trafficking in Ashland, AL. According to the Ashland police department Rochester is charged with Trafficking in Cocaine, Possession of Controlled substance, Possession of Marijuana first degree, Unlawful distribution of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and trafficking in illegal drugs.

Those are some very serious charges.

It just so happens that Ashland, AL is my hometown. I grew up there and know virtually everyone. Three people are currently feeding me information on the case and all are watching to see if the judges son gets special treatment. My sources are telling me that John Alexander Rochester will turn states evidence and that arrangements are being sought for a treatment bed for him.

Rochester's son should not get special treatment because of who he is or because his daddy can afford to buy him a slot in a treatment center. If he does then I will organize a very rowdy protest on the steps of the Clay County Courthouse along with some or perhaps all of the following people and anyone else I can round up. Should be quite a crowd seeing as about half the population of Clay Co. has had someone sent to prison by Judge Rochester for drugs.

The kid I went to church with who got a five year prison sentence from Judge Rochester for possessing one Xanax. He wasn't trafficking. His family will attend too. They are well respected.

My brother, who Rochester has sentenced twice, ten years each, for being an alcoholic. He has never been a trafficker.

My sister-in-law, who is in jail with Judge Rochester's son. She is accused of having pills without a prescription. She has never been a trafficker

This is a chance to expose the blatant hypocrisy that is the criminal justice system. It will show that you can have about as much justice as you can afford in this country.

I think drug use/sales of any kind between consenting adults shouldn't be a crime and please don't think I am advocating for jail or prison for the young Rochester or the Yates kid. I am not. But, if one deserves a shot at a treatment bed then they all do and it shouldn't be based on how much money one has, and if it is then it is unconstitutional because it is discriminatory in nature. Only the rich can get in. The poor go to jail.

I'll keep everyone posted on new developments and if you are reading from Clay County then start rounding up folks that have felt the wrath of Judge Rochester to join in our potential protest.







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Judge John Rochester's Son Arrested on Trafficking Charges

Oh...how the mighty have fallen!!

Judges son arrested

The son of a Clay county circuit court judge is in the Clay County jail on multiple drug charges. According to Ashland Police, John Alexander Rochester, son of circuit court judge John Rochester and Kyle Tyler Yates were both arrested in an Ashland park by police. Rochester is charged with Traffficking in Cocaine, Possession of Controlled substance, Possession of Marijuana first degree, Unlawful distribution of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and trafficking in illegal drugs. Yates has been charged with possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. Both men remain in the Clay county jail.

Here is the beauty of this thing. I have sat in Judge Rochester's court room many times since I was a kid. Never been before him myself...but other family members and friends have and were placed in prison for YEARS for simple possession charges. Trafficking brought unbelievable sentences from Judge Rochester. It has been rumored for a long time by various sources that Judge Rochester is a big fan of nose candy himself....but I have never been able to confirm that. If he toot's he never offered me a bump.

And now his precious boy resides in the Clay County jail for trafficking. Interestingly enough...my sister-in-law is also in that same jail because she is a chronic pain patient who has no insurance and has to acquire her medications from the street. She is facing 15 years right now for that very thing. At least she has a legitimate need for doing what she is accused of if she actually did it.

I had a friend call me a few weeks ago to tell me that he is about to go before Rochester for trafficking cocaine. They have him on wire talking to an undercover and the undercover asks, "How much can I get for this?" and "You got that?" Specific drugs are never mentioned. He asked me if there was anything I could do to help him. I sent him a text message few minutes ago with this information about Rochester's son. That should help.

Now, I assume that Rochester will recuse himself from this case. I also assume he will use every available power that he has to keep his 'precious' out of the horrible Alabama prison system that he has so unceremoniously sent other people's precious kids to for the same or lesser crimes. I bet he might even try to get him in drug court...but traffickers are not eligible for drug court. When that fails he'll start looking for treatment for his kid...while he denied it to so many others, and maybe he will learn first hand about the appalling lack of treatment beds in this state.

I love it when officials kids make them look like fools. They parade around town acting holier-than-thou, wielding their power without regard for others...never thinking that one day it will be their kid.

Poetic Fucking Justice BABY!!

I LOVE IT!



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