SALEM, N.J. (AP) — A southern New Jersey man who
traded gunfire with law enforcement during a hostage situation last year,
leaving one person and a police dog wounded, has been sentenced to 62 years in
state prison.
Lavar Rodgers must serve nearly 52 years of the sentence imposed Tuesday
before becoming eligible for parole. A Salem County jury convicted him in August
on numerous charges, including multiple counts of attempted murder and
kidnapping.
Prosecutors said the 26-year-old Salem City man held his girlfriend and her
three young children at gunpoint in their row home in January 2011. When
authorities first entered the home, Rodgers opened fire, forcing them to leave
the residence.
The girlfriend and her children were released unharmed several hours later,
and Rodgers eventually was captured.
