West's Rogers arrested on suspicion of theft

By Vanessa Miller

IOWA CITY -- Charles Rogers, the Iowa City West quarterback who signed a letter of intent Feb. 1 to play football at Iowa State University, was arrested last week on suspicion of stealing two hats from Scheels at the Coral Ridge Mall.

Store personnel inside Scheels saw Rogers, 18, of Iowa City, pick up two hats about 1:50 p.m. March 15 and hide them in an American Eagle bag he was carrying, according to a police report. Rogers left the store without paying, according to police, and was contacted by authorities.

Rogers was cooperative, police reported, and he now faces a charge of misdemeanor theft.

He's scheduled to appear in court on the charge April 19.

Rogers, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound quarterback, chose to sign with Iowa State over Minnesota and Northern Illinois earlier this year.

In Iowa State's online signing-day coverage, Rogers is listed as a three-star recruit and ranked as third-best prospect among in-state class of 2012 prospects. He was named a first-team Class 4A all-stater by the Iowa Newspaper Association.

In 2011, Rogers threw for 2,128 yards and 18 touchdowns, completing 58.4 percent of his passes. He also was the leading rusher for the Trojans, posting 1,191 yards and 23 touchdowns on the ground.

Rogers also competes in track and field for West.

West Athletics Director Marv Reiland said he didn't know anything about Rogers' arrest until contacted by The Gazette on Thursday. Rogers is out of school this week, Reiland said, but he'll talk with the student about the issue when he returns.

Reiland said he can't comment about any sort of penalties Rogers might face at school if convicted of the theft charge.

“But it doesn't matter who the student is, if there is a violation of our conduct code, there are consequences,” he said.