Cleveland man walks out of prison accused of shooting neighbor in the butt

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – Mark Thomas Jr. and his fiancée Kelly Slobodian have spent almost a month visiting hotels. The Cleveland couple no longer feels safe in their home, especially since their neighbor, who is accused of shooting Thomas in the back, has since been released from prison.

“Well, you know, I don’t feel safe anywhere,” Thomas said. “We don’t feel safe. We have to move. We don’t trust anyone.”

In October, 19 News spoke to Thomas from his hospital bed, just days after he was shot in the back. Cleveland police said they found his neighbor, 71-year-old Steven Rogers, near the crime scene with a gun. Rogers was arrested for aggravated assault, but a week after the shooting, Rogers was released on bond.

“I’m very scared,” Slobodian said. “Our family doesn’t know exactly where we are. Right now we're basically just staying in hotels and trying to stay out of the area, but close enough to have contact with law enforcement and the court system so we know what's going on. It's one of them. We don't want to be here, but where should we go? We are both unemployed at the moment. I'm running out of resources. I’m using my savings to pay for hotel rooms.”

The feud between neighbors precedes this shootout. In October 2022, 19 interviewed the West Park couple after they were brutally attacked by their neighbor Steven Rogers' three adult children and another man. They had an order of protection against Rogers at the time.

After the attack, the couple received notice in the mail that Rogers had filed a request to return his gun after his protective order against Rogers expired.

“The wheels of justice are slow, and I believe in God,” Thomas said. “However, I don’t have too much confidence in the system.”

Thomas and Slobodian moved from hotel to hotel for security reasons. It was a huge financial burden. They are grateful to receive support from nonprofits like the May Dugan Center, which helps victims of crime.

“We are not safe there. I've been going to my house enough times to pack a few boxes and get everything together so I can move and sell my house, my house that I've owned for 18 years now It's really hard and I have to do this alone, because Mark can’t help me with his injuries,” Slobodian said.

To top it all off, Thomas is still recovering from his gunshot wounds.

“It’s very difficult,” Thomas said. “It's hard to see him in pain. He's a really strong guy and I'm sure he doesn't want to show me how much pain he really is in. I must be his fiancé. I don't have to be his nurse, and there is a hard limit. Just today we had to go to the emergency room again because he was in so much pain.”

On October 18, Rogers was released on $100,000 bail, despite the couple's request that the bail be increased.

“If we just get the justice we deserve, we can move forward,” Thomas said. “It's that simple. We can move on positively with our lives and be happy together. We shouldn't be so afraid of living a life in Cleveland, Ohio. It's a great city with great people and we shouldn't be so afraid. It shouldn’t be this difficult to get justice.”

Steven Rogers will be back in court on November 19th.

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