Seven Deadly Sins murder defendant competent to stand trial, judge rules
By David Gambino
For the Enquirer
A man charged with six counts of capital murder in connection with the shooting deaths of seven people at a Valhermoso Springs drug house in 2020 is mentally competent to stand trial, a Morgan County judge ruled last week.
John Michael Legg, 23, belonged to a motorcycle gang called Seven Deadly Sins when he was invited, along with Frederic Rogers, 26, to 522 Talucah Road for a dinner party on June 4, 2020, according to preliminary hearing testimony from an FBI special agent.
There, Rogers “cased” the house and its occupants before opening fire on three men in the garage, according to testimony. In a written statement, Rogers said he killed four men in all: Jeremy Roberts, 31, of Athens, James Wayne Benford, 22, of Decatur, William Zane Hodgin, 18, of Somerville, and Roger Lee Jones Jr., 20, of Decatur, at a house on Talucah Road. The statement said Legg fatally shot three women at the residence: Tammy England Muzzey, 45, Emily Brooke Payne, 21, and Dakota Green, 17 — all from Valhermoso Springs.
The Morgan County District Attorney’s Office sought the death penalty for Rogers, who, following a lengthy trial that began in August, was sentenced by a jury to life in prison without parole on Sept. 10. At trial, prosecutors argued that Rogers was the one who shot Green.
District Attorney Scott Anderson previously said he would seek the death penalty for Legg, too. Legg — 19 at the time of the shootings — sought youthful offender status in the case, but it was denied. He has pleaded not guilty by reason of mental illness or defect.
On Dec. 9, Legg and one of his attorneys, John Berry, appeared in Circuit Judge Stephen Brown’s courtroom for a status hearing. Berry told Brown that the court had been provided with Legg’s “psychiatric evaluation” performed by JBS Mental Health Authority in Birmingham.
While Alabama law allows defendants to request a jury trial on mental competency matters, Berry waived the jury trial and asked Brown to decide on Legg’s competency.
Brown called Legg before the bench and asked if he understood the proceedings, and Legg said he did. Brown indicated that prosecutors and the defense would have an opportunity to respond to his competency ruling.
Brown said in his Dec. 11 order that he will set a date for the capital murder trial at Legg’s next status hearing, scheduled for Jan. 13.
“The court proceedings shall continue without unnecessary delay,” Brown wrote.
Rogers and Legg fled to Oregon, where Rogers’ grandmother lived, following the killings. They were arrested in Marion County, Oregon, on June 21, 2020. They were flown to Birmingham on June 28 and then transferred to the Morgan County Jail.
Legg was charged with second-degree escape in July 2022 after he allegedly donned a trusty uniform and tried to move throughout the jail complex, although authorities said he never left the building.
