In his opening statement Tuesday, he asked the jury to give less weight to what he called “so what?” evidence, like the color of the vehicles used in the robberies. Rogers’ attorney, Richard Pocker, has said the government’s evidence in the two robberies before the heist at the Rio is weak. A department spokesperson said last week that Rogers has been on unpaid leave “without police powers,” pending the outcome of the trial, which began Monday and is expected to last through the end of the week.
At the time of the heists, Rogers was employed by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department as an active-duty patrol officer.
