Woman sentenced for drug offense

A Sturgis woman was sentenced this week to two years in prison for a drug-related offense.

Taja Rogers, 28, could have been ordered probation only had she not skipped a court date for her sentencing to a charge of methamphetamine earlier this year.

St. Joseph Circuit Judge Paul Stutesman, however, said in light of her missed court date March 17, Rogers now scored on the Michigan Sentencing Guidelines a minimum of 19 months to 10 years in prison.

The drug was found on her after she was a passenger in a vehicle involved in a high-speed chase from Branch County into Sturgis last October.

Rogers was with alleged armed robber Dylan Brand when he tried to rob a woman near Bronson. Branch County Sheriff’s deputies chased them at a speed of 90 miles per hour into St. Joseph County, where Sturgis Police took up the chase.

The judge declined to talk to Rogers about her involvement in the Branch County armed robbery because Brand’s case is pending trial in Coldwater.

Brand, meanwhile, will be sentenced Sept. 30 in St Joseph County Circuit Court. Convicted as a habitual felon, Brand faces life in prison.