May 13—Editor's note: This is the latest in a series of profiles on cold cases that the Lodi Police Department and other area law enforcement agencies are investigating.

In the early morning hours of July 9, 2002, two Lodi men were shot to death while sleeping in a parked car, and their killer has never been found.

The murders of 48-year-old Danny Stewart Rogers and 20-year-old Timothie Lawton are the first cold cases of the 21st century for Lodi Police Department detectives.

The incident is also the first double homicide in the city's history.

According to News-Sentinel archives, Rogers and Layton were known transients to the police, and they were sleeping in the former's white 1987 Cadillac DeVille in the Sun West Plaza parking lot in the 2300 block of West Kettleman Lane when they were killed.

Police were called to the shopping center at about 1:40 a.m. that morning on the report of shots fired. A security officer near the Food 4 Less heard the gunshots and saw the muzzle flash of the gun, and believed someone was shooting at him. He took cover and called police.

Officers searched the area but found no victims, according to News-Sentinel archives, and it was a passerby who found the bodies in the vehicle some three hours after the initial call.

Rogers' DeVille was parked near the Taco Bell with its passenger side window shot out.

Police said at the time that Rogers and Layton were killed with two different handguns, and the suspects were only described as white male adults in a black Honda Accord or Civic that fled south on Lower Sacramento Road after the incident.

According to News-Sentinel archives, both Rogers and Layton had multiple run-ins with police.

Rogers was about to begin a 60-day jail sentence for possession of marijuana, and Layton had just been released after serving a sentence for taking a car without consent. Toxicology tests revealed both men had taken several pain relievers and that Rogers had methadone, a common treatment for heroin addiction, in his system at the time of their deaths.

There was no sign of heroin or other illegal drugs in either man's body, according to archives.

While suspect information was scant, former Lodi Police Chief Jerry Adams told the News-Sentinel it was likely the victims knew their murderers.

Layton was born in Terre Haute, Ind., but was raised in Lodi when his family moved here in 1987, according to his obituary.

He attended Lodi, Tokay and Liberty high schools, and had resided in Calaveras County before his murder. He also had one child, but was not married, according to archives.

Rogers had only been in the area for two years, according to his obituary, and had been an independent jeweler for eight years at some point in time.

He was survived by a son, a daughter and two grandchildren.

Anyone with information about the murder is asked to call Det. Cpl. Josh Silvia at 209-369-4821, or email jsilvia@lodi.gov. Reference case 02-8122 when callling.

Francisco Hernandez

Many of the department's cold cases concern the murders of Lodi residents, but a 2005 incident involves an Elk Grove man.

On June 26, 2005, 43-year-old Francisco Javier Hernandez was shot and killed outside Antonio's Latin Club, located at 710 S. Beckman Road.

The shooting happened at 12:43 a.m., when Hernandez had apparently "wandered way to the back of the business in a secluded area by himself," police told the News-Sentinel at the time.

Witnesses reported hearing as many as six shots, police said, but did not see anything.

It was his first time at the club, and it was not known why he was there, because police said his friends had driven to a different area and parked the car there.

He was transported to San Joaquin General Hospital by helicopter, suffering multiple gunshot wounds, according to News-Sentinel archives.

Hernandez worked for a Sacramento County flooring company and had no criminal record. Relatives, friends and his employer described him as a hard worker who never got into trouble

Police said the murder was not gang-related, and did not appear to be motivated by robbery.

Antonio's had a history of violent incidents occurring there, according to News-Sentinel archives, as police had been called 98 times between January of 2004 and June of 2005.

Most of the calls were placed on Saturday nights, according to archives. Weeks after Hernandez's murder, Antonio's was closed and a sale fell through after potential buyers worried about the number of violent incidents that had occurred there, according to archives. Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Maricruz Sanchez at 209-333-4828, or email msanchez@lodi.gov. Reference case 05-6620.

Gary Patterson

One year after Hernandez's murder, Lodi resident Gary Lee Patterson was shot multiple times in the 400 block of West Lockeford Street. Patterson, 31, was shot six times at an apartment complex in the early morning hours of Aug. 26, 2006. He was taken to Lodi Memorial Hospital, where he died from his injuries.

According to News-Sentinel archives, Patterson had been involved in 40 police cases since 2000, both as a suspect and victim.

Patterson was a transient who had been scheduled to appear in Lodi court on misdemeanor charges of domestic violence and dissuading a witness from reporting a crime, according to San Joaquin County Superior Court records at the time.

He had been arrested on the case July 16, released from custody and charges were filed July 28.

When Patterson didn't appear in court, Judge David Warner signed a $20,000 arrest warrant.

He had recently been cited for providing police with a false name, and was scheduled to appear in court Sept. 8. Most of his previous cases involved trespassing and drug charges, according to archives. A person of interest had been named at the time and was arrested on related warrants, but no charges were eve filed in connection with Patterson's death.

That person of interest, Stockton resident Anthony Randle, who was 30 at the time, was sentenced to more than five years in state prison in other cases, which included domestic violence and making criminal threats.

Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Melita Kautz at 209-269-4833, or email mkautz@lodi.gov. Reference case 06-8976.

News-Sentinel staff writer K. Cathey contributed to this report.