VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – A man with a history of domestic violence who is suspected of beating his girlfriend in September and leaving her with severe facial injuries was captured in North Carolina Tuesday after Holly Hill police said he was found hiding at his “mommy’s" house.
When police responded to the Blue Tide Apartment on Sept. 28, Aaron Rogers, 38, fled by jumping from a second-floor balcony, Holly Hill police said.
Authorities posted Rogers picture on social media in an effort to capture and charge him with aggravated domestic battery.
The victim suffered a cracked eye socket, four broken bones in her nose and a severe head injury known as a subdural hematoma, according to the Holly Hill police report.
“Many of you exchanged Rogers’ picture on (Facebook) in an attempt to locate him. The power of social media is an awesome tool,” Holly Hill police said in a Facebook post announcing the suspect’s arrest.
With help from Volusia County Sheriff's Office Detective William Maxwell, the U.S. Marshals Service's Violent Offender Task Force and the Haywood County Sheriff's Office Rogers was found hiding in his “mommy’s” basement in Canton, North Carolina, Holly Hill police said.
Rogers’ mother faces charges of resisting and providing false information to law enforcement officers, according to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.
“Great teamwork by all from here to N.C. to remove a dangerous, violent thug from the streets,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a tweet.
Volusia County Jail records show Rogers has an extensive arrest history. He was charged in separate incidents of domestic battery by strangulation in January, February and June of last year.
Rogers accepted a plea deal on felony domestic battery charges in September for the January incident and was sentenced to at least two years community supervision. Rogers violated the terms of his release while on the run for the most recent domestic violence incident.
Rogers was released from jail 10 days before allegedly beating his girlfriend, court records show. Holly Hill Police Chief Steve Aldrich said Rogers removed off his ankle monitor when he fled the area.
Aldrich said he did not know when Rogers will be extradited back to Volusia County.