New Details On Suspect In Norman Hostage Situation

The man accused of holding three people hostage in a Norman law office will be arraigned on Wednesday.

Devin Rogers, 29, is currently being held in the Cleveland County detention center after surrendering peacefully to Norman Police at the Nextep Building, located at 1800 N. Interstate Drive after a four and a half hour standoff.

Detectives with Norman police are finalizing their investigation and plan to present their recommended charges to the Cleveland County District Attorney's office Wednesday morning.

Rogers is currently being held on complaints of kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon, discharging a firearm and using a weapon in commission of a felony. Norman Police say Rogers had a California license in his possession at the time of his arrest and they are reasonably certain he is who he says he is.

News 9 checked and learned Rogers is from the Los Angeles area, has no criminal background, and trained at Fort Campbell in Kentucky.

?11/10/2014 Related Story: Norman Hostage Situation Ends Peacefully, Suspect in Custody?

District Attorney Greg Mashburn says Rogers requested to deal directly with him during the negotiations. Mashburn claims Rogers wanted to negotiate a deal to release the hostages and that he wanted it on a piece of paper and signed by the DA. Once it was written out and signed, a negotiator with the Norman Police Department slid it under the door.

It was less than 24 hours ago that police were surrounding the Nextep building in Norman, hoping for a peaceful end to a standoff that last more than 4 hours. And it was there that that Mashburn worked alongside police to negotiate a deal with Rogers.

“At this point in time, we have no idea why this took place,” said Mashburn. “We don't know what his motives were or anything like that.”

Mashburn says that through the help of the Norman Police negotiator on the scene, they worked out a written agreement with Rogers to have him release the three hostages he had taken inside and surrender to police.

“My understanding is he wanted to negotiate directly with me on the terms of what was going to happen to him upon release of the hostages,” said Mashburn.

One of those hostages was Jennifer Shokat, who was actually in the room with Rogers. Shokat, on national television said Rogers told her he was a veteran who had served in Iraq and Afghanistan, but felt he had no value to society, couldn't find a decent paying job and would rather just go to jail.

“Rogers had concern for her safety, and her well-being during the communications,” recalled Mashburn. “He was wanting to make sure she was OK.”

Mashburn says the tense standoff began when Rogers seemingly picked the Nextep office building at random, then grabbed a man in the parking lot and placed a gun to his head. The two then walked into the building, went to the second floor and Rogers started shooting, shattering a glass door to the law office inside.

Mashburn says he then pushed the man with him aside, and he and others in the building were able to make it out unharmed.

“I mean I've never seen anything like this,” said Mashburn. “In all the years I've done it, this is definitely the best case scenario. What you hope for when all the training kicks in. And the Norman police were highly professional, highly instrumental in making this happen and come to this ending.”