Following a violent altercation with a stranger who entered her home, 29-year-old Amanda Harbeson of Rimrock lost her husband, 25-year-old Jarrod Rogers, to gunshot wounds on Oct. 14.
The shooting occurred at approximately 11:45 p.m., after an unidentified 17-year-old Cottonwood man entered the unlocked front door of a travel trailer Harbeson and Rogers were renting on a property in the 4000 block of E. Airport Drive in Rimrock.
According to Harbeson, she and Rogers had resided in the trailer for only a week prior to the incident. Both local to the Verde Valley, the couple had been married since April.
Harbeson said on Oct. 21 that neither she nor her husband recognized the teen who trespassed into their home.
“He entered through the front door …. He had his gun drawn and he was asking for drugs and money,” Harbeson said, adding that when they denied having the items the suspect forced Harbeson to her knees, duct-taped her mouth closed and aimed a gun at her forehead.
According to Harbeson, Rogers asked if the suspect intended to kidnap his wife. The suspect said no.
Harbeson admitted that she is not sure of the exact nature of the events that followed, but that Rogers was behind her and at a certain point arched his body over hers, perhaps to defend her from the suspect.
A struggle for the firearm ensued between her husband and the suspect, Harbeson said. She heard gunshots and made her way to the trailer’s back door, which she was unable to unlock.
The suspect fled. Harbeson entered the room where Rogers lay, with one visible gunshot wound to the chest. Harbeson left the trailer to visit the house located on the property, requesting that someone call 911. A neighbor began performing CPR on Rogers.
Once Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office personnel arrived, one among them began performing CPR but was unable to resuscitate Rogers, who died on scene.
The suspect was later arrested after he checked himself into Verde Valley Medical Center with a gunshot wound to the leg. Harbeson said that she is unsure of how the suspect came about the wound — whether he shot himself or Rogers fired the weapon into his assailant.
The suspect has been booked at the Prescott Juvenile Detention Center on charges including murder, armed robbery, burglary, aggravated assault and kidnapping.
“From what the funeral home said, he had received three gunshot wounds,” Harbeson said of her husband.
Asked if the suspect would have reason to target their trailer, Harbeson said that she could see no rationale for it. On disability and a limited income, neither she nor Rogers had money lying around. As for recreational drugs, Harbeson said she doesn’t believe in using them.
“In all honesty, I think this kid went to the first place he saw light,” Harbeson said, adding that she is now seeking justice for her husband’s death. She posited that the suspect was looking for someone else he knew possessed drugs.
In Harbeson’s mind, that someone may already be in custody — one who lived in the house adjacent to the couple’s trailer.
On Oct. 15, while searching the residence YCSO personnel arrested Harbeson’s neighbor, 24-year-old Moriah Calhoun, who was determined not to have been involved in the homicide, for charges associated with drug possession and sales.
On Oct. 22, Harbeson held a memorial service for Rogers. In November she will attend a hearing to determine if the suspect will be tried as an adult.
To contribute to a GoFundMe campaign to assist with funeral expenses for Rogers, go to gofundme.com and search “Jarrod Rogers’ funeral expenses” or Click Here.
Because the suspect is a minor, YCSO has not released his name.
