SAN LEANDRO — By all accounts, Martress Clarence Rogers was a good young man, a loving father who worked hard while pursuing his dream of becoming a rap artist. But on Saturday, Rogers got into a dispute with a motorist — and it cost him his life.
"He was a family guy, totally into his music," said Rogers' brother, Marc, 22, who on Monday spoke of his family's sadness as tearful friends gathered around a memorial stationed several feet from where his brother collapsed, the victim of multiple gunshot wounds.
"It always seems to happen to the wrong ones," he continued. "He was a clean-cut cat, handsome and didn't bother nobody."
Martress Rogers, 24, was driving his Chevy Cavalier, possibly with a passenger or two inside, in the Ashland area early Saturday morning when authorities said he apparently got into a confrontation with the occupants of a dark-colored SUV.
The SUV was idling in the middle of the 16100 block of Ashland Avenue, facing oncoming traffic, when Rogers approached it in his car, said Lt. Dale Amaral, spokesman for the Alameda County Sheriff's Department.
"An argument ensued between the passenger in the SUV and the victim," Amaral said. "During the course of the argument, a number of shots were fired."
Despite being mortally wounded in front of the Ashland Manor Apartments, Rogers managed to drive to his apartment in the 15300 block of Tropic Court, about 11/2miles from where investigators found empty shell casings, Amaral said.
When Rogers arrived at the apartment complex around 4:30 a.m., he crashed his car into a building, stumbled out and collapsed several feet away from the security gate, two doors down from Rogers' apartment. He was taken to Eden Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Marc Rogers said he was awakened by the commotion outside the security gate, but was unaware that the person "coughing up blood" was his dying brother.
"I saw someone, but I didn'trealize it was him," he said. "That was the last thing I expected. It was a hell of a shock." Not only are detectives searching for clues that could lead them to a suspect, Sgt. Scott Dudek said, they're also trying to locate the person who was with Rogers when he was fatally shot.
Dudek said investigators who combed the apartment complex where Rogers was found noticed at least two trails of blood leading into the complex, which suggests there could have been two passengers in Rogers' car who were either shot or injured when Rogers' crashed his vehicle.
"I need to know who was with Martress," Dudek said.
As detectives worked for leads, Rogers' family was left with a sense of emptiness.
Rogers' grandmother, Deloise Quarters of Castro Valley, who must now find the money to bury her grandson, said, "He was what you'd call cool. He didn't argue with nobody, didn't fight with nobody. He was a good kid, and didn't deserve that."
Marc Rogers said the most difficult part of his brother's death was telling his ailing father, Marc Sr., who is in the hospital.
"I had to call him with the news," he said. "That was my father's oldest son. He has four sons — three now."
Rogers' grandfather, Ralph Quarters, sat outside of a home in Castro Valley, trying to make sense of a tragedy that leaves his 3-year-old great-grandson, Marvin, fatherless.
"This was really needless," Quarters said. "He was a good kid. It's real sad, real hard. He was a very mannerly kid, respectful. The good die young, I guess."
"He was a family guy, totally into his music," said Rogers' brother, Marc, 22, who on Monday spoke of his family's sadness as tearful friends gathered around a memorial stationed several feet from where his brother collapsed, the victim of multiple gunshot wounds.
"It always seems to happen to the wrong ones," he continued. "He was a clean-cut cat, handsome and didn't bother nobody."
Martress Rogers, 24, was driving his Chevy Cavalier, possibly with a passenger or two inside, in the Ashland area early Saturday morning when authorities said he apparently got into a confrontation with the occupants of a dark-colored SUV.
The SUV was idling in the middle of the 16100 block of Ashland Avenue, facing oncoming traffic, when Rogers approached it in his car, said Lt. Dale Amaral, spokesman for the Alameda County Sheriff's Department.
"An argument ensued between the passenger in the SUV and the victim," Amaral said. "During the course of the argument, a number of shots were fired."
Despite being mortally wounded in front of the Ashland Manor Apartments, Rogers managed to drive to his apartment in the 15300 block of Tropic Court, about 11/2miles from where investigators found empty shell casings, Amaral said.
When Rogers arrived at the apartment complex around 4:30 a.m., he crashed his car into a building, stumbled out and collapsed several feet away from the security gate, two doors down from Rogers' apartment. He was taken to Eden Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Marc Rogers said he was awakened by the commotion outside the security gate, but was unaware that the person "coughing up blood" was his dying brother.
"I saw someone, but I didn'trealize it was him," he said. "That was the last thing I expected. It was a hell of a shock." Not only are detectives searching for clues that could lead them to a suspect, Sgt. Scott Dudek said, they're also trying to locate the person who was with Rogers when he was fatally shot.
Dudek said investigators who combed the apartment complex where Rogers was found noticed at least two trails of blood leading into the complex, which suggests there could have been two passengers in Rogers' car who were either shot or injured when Rogers' crashed his vehicle.
"I need to know who was with Martress," Dudek said.
As detectives worked for leads, Rogers' family was left with a sense of emptiness.
Rogers' grandmother, Deloise Quarters of Castro Valley, who must now find the money to bury her grandson, said, "He was what you'd call cool. He didn't argue with nobody, didn't fight with nobody. He was a good kid, and didn't deserve that."
Marc Rogers said the most difficult part of his brother's death was telling his ailing father, Marc Sr., who is in the hospital.
"I had to call him with the news," he said. "That was my father's oldest son. He has four sons — three now."
Rogers' grandfather, Ralph Quarters, sat outside of a home in Castro Valley, trying to make sense of a tragedy that leaves his 3-year-old great-grandson, Marvin, fatherless.
"This was really needless," Quarters said. "He was a good kid. It's real sad, real hard. He was a very mannerly kid, respectful. The good die young, I guess."
