Scott Roeder's Picture from Kansas Department of Corrections
The tragic shooting of Dr. George Tiller in Wichita yesterday still shocks and saddens everyone.
Everyone can agree with President Obama’s statement: “However profound our differences as Americans over difficult issues such as abortion, they cannot be resolved by heinous acts of violence.”
Activists that use the label “pro life,” as well as those who describe themselves as “pro choice,” all condemned the tragic and senseless murder of a human life.
What is known about Scott P. Roeder, the person of interest in shooting Dr. Tiller, who was taken into custody this afternoon near Gardner, KS?
A Kansas City Star article from May 3, 1996 tells how Scott Roeder was first arrested because of someone’s memory and anxiety over the Oklahoma City bombing on 4/19/1995. Roeder’s first arrest was on 4/16/1996, just days before the first anniversary:
Motorist’s report led to arrest Police also were tense around anniversary of fatal blast, deputy says,
The Kansas City Star – Friday, May 3, 1996
Author: SCOTT CANON , Mid-America CorrespondentTOPEKA – Anxiety over the anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing, plus a tip to police, led to the arrest of a man who is suspected of having ties to a Montana “freemen”group, a Shawnee County sheriff’s deputy testified Thursday.
A preliminary hearing was held Thursday for Scott Roeder , 38, of Silver Lake, Kan., who is charged with criminal use of explosives.
Sgt. Larry Crady of the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Department testified that on April 16 a motorist flagged him down and reported seeing a car with a license plate that read: “Sovereign Private Property Immunity Declared at Law Non-Commercial American. ” Crady said he saw the car, staked it out and eventually pulled it over.
“We were in a heightened state of awareness in light of the anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing,” Crady testified.
Roeder was arrested on charges of driving without registration, insurance or a valid driver’s license.
Police impounded the car and searched it. They found a blasting cap; two six-volt lantern batteries, one wired with a clothespin and a cigarette wrapper; and a 1-pound can of black gunpowder. Explosives experts testified these were the makings of a bomb.
Later that day, officers searched Roeder ’s home and found two pages of instructions titled “Underground Cookbook: Clothes Pin Time-Delayed Switch. ” James Carlson, an agent for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, testified that the instructions could produce a device like the one in Roeder ’s trunk.
Roeder ’s attorney argued Thursday that the evidence was improperly obtained because authorities never should have impounded the vehicle in the first place.
“They just wanted to search his car,” said public defender Ronald Evans. “But they had no right. ” Roeder is being held on $60,000 bond. He did not testify at the hearing and declined to answer questions afterward.
Shawnee County Sheriff Dave Meneley has said Roeder is listed by the FBI as a member of the freemen group that has been locked for more than a month in a standoff with federal authorities near Jordan, Mont.
Both Shawnee and Johnson County Court Records show legal problems for Scott Roeder over the years (I’m still learning on how to interpret these online court records full of legalese):
- Case 96TR002165 (3/21/1996):
- Charge 1: Registration Violation. Fine: $42.
- Charge 2: Driving with suspended license. Fine: $100.
- Charge 3: Failure to use safety belts. Dismissed.
- Charge 4: No liability insurance. Dismissed.
- Case 96CR01251 (4/17/1996):
- Charge 1: Criminal Use of Explosives. Sentence: term of 16 months. Post Release supervision period is 24 months.
- Charge 2: Driving with suspended license. Sentence: Fine: $100. Defendant poses significant threat to safety of community if he does not conform behavior. The Court suspends execution of sentence of imprisonment and places defendant on 24 months supervised parole after serving timeserved days.
- Charge 3: Illegal registration. Fine: $100.
- Charge 4: No liability insurance. Find: $20.
- Case 98CV000305 (3/9/1998):
- Unclear what this was about. Possibly violation of terms of parole.
The last case is possibly explained by this Militia Watchdog page:
Scott Roeder is sentenced to sixteen months in state prison for parole violations following a 1996 conviction for having bomb components in his car trunk. Roeder, a sovereign citizen and tax protester, violated his parole by not filing tax returns or providing his social security number to his employer.
- Case 92CV07455. Roeder vs. Roeder. Petition for Divorce.
- Case 96CV05915. Roeder vs. Roeder. Petitioner (wife) granted divorce.
- Case 05CV05097. Scott Roeder vs. Countrywide Home Loans.
[Loan problem?] Pro se address: 2925 S 63rd St, Kansas City, KS66106 - Case 08LA08663. Midland Funding LLC vs. Scott P Roeder.
FILE STAMP 4/10/2009, ORDER OF GARNISHMENT JO CO KS, SERVED COMMUNITY AMERICA CREDIT UNION 04-07-09 C/S. [Need more info on how this affected Roeder recently. ]
Information from the Kansas Department of Corrections
Roeder’s full name is Scott Philip Roeder. His birthdate is Feb 25, 1958. He has hazel eyes, brown hair, 6′2″, 230 lbs, white male. He was KDOC #0065192.
As shown above in 96CR1251, his offense date was April 16, 1996. His sentencing date was June 21, 1996.
The Department of Corrections said he was released on appeal bond on March 26, 1998.
Voter Registration / Voting History
VoterView information from the Kansas Secretary of State shows that Roeder voted only in three elections: the 1992 Presidential Primary, and the 1992 and 1994 general elections. It’s unclear why his current record shows he registered to vote in Oct 1994, which would have been after 2 of his 3 ballots were cast — possibly he moved and the date was inadvertently updated.
Roeder’s party affiliation before 1999 is not known, but voter registration records obtained from either the Johnson County Election Office or the Kansas Secretary of State show Roeder was an Unaffiliated (independent) voter until 2001 when he switched his affiliation to the Republican party. While he changed his party affiliation in 2001 according to Johnson County Voter Registration records, Roeder has never voted since 1994.
His voter registration address in the 11700 block of W 68th Terr shows one other person at that address, but the connection to Roeder is not clear. This other person has been registered to vote at the same address for 13 years — just two shy of the 15 years shown for Roeder.
Political Contributions
No known federal (FEC search via Open Secrets) or State of Kansas (search via KS Ethics site) political contributions can be found.
One reliable source familiar with some of Roeder’s legal problems indicated he did not have much money to contribute to anyone, so it’s not surprising no political donations were found.
Postings to Prolife Web Sites
Some have misinterpreted the significance of Roeder’s postings to two prolife web sites:
1) The 9th comment added to Operation Rescue’s page from May 2007 (viewable from Google cache):
Scott Roeder Says:
May 19th, 2007 at 4:34 pmBleass everyone for attending and praying in May to bring justice to Tiller and the closing of his death camp.
Sometime soon, would it be feasible to organize as many people as possible to attend Tillers church (inside, not just outside) to have much more of a presence and possibly ask questions of the Pastor, Deacons, Elders and members while there? Doesn’t seem like it would hurt anything but bring more attention to Tiller.
At that time in 2007 Roeder shows only interest in harassing Tiller but does not imply any physical harm.
When Roeder was arrested in Johnson County, Channel 9 reports there was a Post-It note with Operation Rescue’s phone number.
Jim Flink from KMBC Channel 9 said:
“Inside that Taurus you see a lone rose in the back window. That is a symbol of the prolife movement.”
Single rose in Roeder's car (from KMBC video)
“Also inside: a change of clothes and a post-it note with the number of the Operation Rescue organization on it. That is a Wichita prolife organization. That was in the front seat.”
Post-It Note with Phone Number in Roeder's Car (from KMBC video)
But according to KFDI in Wichita Operation Rescue said Roeder was not associated with that group:
The leader of Operation Rescue says a man suspected of fatally shooting abortion doctor George Tiller is not affiliated with the anti-abortion group.
The group released the statement from its president, Troy Newman, on Monday saying Scott Roeder “has never been a member, contributor or volunteer with Operation Rescue.” ..
Operation Rescue, which has closely followed Tiller’s work, has condemned the killing as “a cowardly act.”
2) The Charge Tiller web site shows this posting (link currently not available but viewable from the Wayback Machine):
Scott Roeder
Mon September 03, 2007, 09:49:40
It seems as though what is happening in Kansas could be compared to the “lawlessness” which is spoken of in the Bible. Tiller is the concentration camp “Mengele” of our day and needs to be stopped before he and those who protect him bring judgement upon our nation.
Links to this page were circulated via Twitter, and retweeted, even by a Kansas City TV station, claiming Roeder was saying Tiller must be “killed” when his actual word was “stopped.”
Roeder’s Ex-Wife Talks
While Roeder’s words posted to various web sites above may seem benign, the comments from his ex-wife are alarming, especially given his criminal background. They have been divorced since 1996 (see JoCo Court records above) but they have a son together. Roeder’s ex-wife said his radical anti-abortion views led to their divorce.
Several news sources talked to Roeder’s ex-wife today. She did not appear on camera, but you could hear her voice in videos such as this one from KMBC talking to Martin Augustine:
“Then when they said who the doctor was I knew it had to be true. There was no way it wasn’t true. …
He didn’t think of his son. He didn’t think of the consequences this would have for anybody. There were children in that church. Childen that will remember that for the rest of their lives. He thinks he justified and he needs to think again.”
Roeder’s Mental Illness
Recall from the court records above that a judge described Roeder:
Defendant poses significant threat to safety of community if he doe not conform behavior
From the same KMBC video above, Roeder’s former landlord from Wyandotte county described him as “quiet and strange.” “He was radical. I didn’t trust him around my family.” Roeder had described himself as “God’s warrior’s here on earth.”
In Family shares accused killer’s history, ex-wife Lindsey Roeder said her ex-husband never thought he was mentally unstable, but “everyone else did.”
He was a “heck of a nice guy” and a “loving son” to some, a “very scary” man to others. …
Family members said Roeder had struggled with mental health issues throughout his life, though he never thought so.
She said he underwent a mental evaluation in the mid-1990s around the time he was arrested in Shawnee County for possessing explosives. Roeder’s immediate family also remembered him suffering from “mental illness at various times in his life.”
But to Scott Roeder, “these were just his views,” not some mental disorder, Lindsey Roeder said.
Point the finger at Roeder until/unless there is evidence others are involved
For most of Sunday Roeder was technically only a “person of interest” but by late Sunday night he was booked into the Sedgwick County Jail for shooting Dr. Tiller. (Roeder is still presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.)
Some on the left in Kansas have been quick to malign a number of good prolife, Christian activists and implicate them in Tiller’s death when there is no evidence of involvement by others. The left is shamefully using political rhetoric to exploit this tragedy and attack many good people who support the Culture of Life. These good people would never have been involved in such an abominable action like witnessed today, yet the left wrongfully attacks them?
Are those attending K-State also to be implicated now since Roeder had a K-State tag on the front of his car when he was arrested?
Front of Roeder's car (from KSHB video)
Or what about the sticker Roeder had on his back window that said “The Emperor has no brains”? Whom will the left attack for that?
Rear of Roeder's car (from KMBC video)
Related:
- Alleged killer of abortion doctor had history of mental illness, family says, Kansas City Star, June 1, 2009.
- Suspect in George Tiller shooting is linked to anti-government group, Kansas City Star, June 1, 2009.
- Notes on the murder of George Tiller, Michell Malkin, June 1, 2009.
- George Tiller redux, Julia Duin Belief Blog at the Washington Times, June 1, 2009.
- Who is Scott Roeder?, Fox4KC.com, May 31, 2009
Tags: Dr. George Tiller, mental illness, murder, Scott P Roeder
Excellent research!