SHAWNEE, Kan. — Law enforcement agencies said 25-year-old Jarod C. Rogers was allegedly shot and robbed last Wednesday night in the 11000 block of Johnson Drive in Shawnee.
“It was just a senseless act,” said Rogers’ girlfriend Crystal Camarena. “I don’t know how or why.”
The people closest to him say the five people arrested in this case had nothing to gain from Jarod, but his friends lost everything.
Rogers died Friday in an Overland Park hospital bed with his girlfriend Crystal and best friend Logan by his side.
“That’s all I see. When I close my eyes, that’s all I see. I can’t get that vision out of my head,” she said. “He didn’t deserve to go.”
Crystal said she spoke to Jarod on the phone just minutes before he was shot.
He was supposed to see her after running an errand. But when she didn’t hear from him, she started to worry.
“I never imagined this happening to anyone. You see it on TV, you see these situations, but you never think it will happen to you,” Camarena said. “When I got the call, I couldn’t believe that it was him.”
Jarod was a world traveler, according to his friends. He didn’t pass up an opportunity to fly to a new part of the world, sometimes bringing his friends along.
Camarena was supposed to be in Colorado this week with her boyfriend of almost a year.
As the reality set in, Camarena went with Jarod’s best friend to get a tattoo reminding them to keep living.
“This tattoo, 'seize the day,' means if you want to do something, go do it,” Logan said. “If you want something, go get it because life is short, so seize the day.”
Rogers’ friends are planning a celebration of life. They want to make the information public, so anyone who knows him from throughout his travels can come to Kansas City and honor him.
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