No parole of man who killed Czech student; guilty verdict for man who sold stolen goods to cop

BAY MINETTE – A Mobile man will continue serving his prison sentence for a hit-and-run accident that left a bicyclist dead seven years ago, thanks to a decision by the Alabama Board of Prisons and Parole, Baldwin County District Attorney Hallie Dixon said.

“It was only in February that Terry D. Rodgers was convicted of vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of the accident in the 2004 homicide of 18-year-old Vendula Pokorna, a Czech student who was riding her bicycle from work in Gulf Shores,” Dixon said.

Dixon praised Assistant District Attorney Michaelyn Gober for winning the conviction and carrying through for the victim’s family by attending Tuesday’s Parole Board hearing. “Only at the sentencing hearing did Rodgers finally admit he had been drinking at the Flora-Bama lounge prior to the incident. He deserves to pay for what he did, and the victim’s family deserves some closure,” Dixon said.
Earlier this week, Gober also won the conviction of Patrick Wilson on a 2003 charge of receiving stolen property. Based on Wilson’s prior felony convictions, he could face a sentence of 15 years to life in prison. Sentencing is set for January 11.

Gober said that Wilson was attempting to sell a stolen DVD player and stolen Craftsmen tools from an earlier burglary of a Sears store in Fairhope. “He just happened to try and sell them to an off-duty Fairhope officer,” Gober said.

Dealing with backlogged cases like these is all in a day’s work at the Baldwin County District Attorney’s Office, Dixon said. “Just because it’s an old case or a hard case, we’re not just going to keep kicking the can down the road. We are committed to bringing these old cases to a successful conclusion while keeping current on our new cases and finally delivering justice to victims.”