SECTION: News Section

DATE: February 5, 1997

Page: A1
The suspects in Angie Dodge's murder knew her from their shared
hangouts, one of Dodge's friends said.
Jessica Martinez, 18, of Idaho Falls, knows the men who have been
arrested and one of the potential suspects in the Dodge murder.
Monday, Christopher Conley Tapp, 20, of Idaho Falls, was charged with
first-degree murder and rape. According to court documents, it is believed
that Tapp either held Dodge down as she was raped or threatened her
into submission.
Although no one else has yet to be arrested for the actual murder,
Bonneville County Prosecutor Kipp Manwaring said evidence supports
the charge.
Dodge, 18, was found dead in her I Street apartment on June 13. She
had been stabbed and her throat was cut. Police said for the first
time Monday that she had also been sexually assaulted.
Tapp's friend, Jeremy Sargis, 18, of Idaho Falls, was also arrested
and charged with being an accessory to a felony related to Dodge's
murder. He was released by court order from the Bonneville County Jail
Friday, according to the jail administration.
Manwaring said the release was made due to a request from his family,
who wanted to get him into treatment. Manwaring did not know what kind
of treatment or counseling Sargis is undergoing. Efforts to reach Sargis'
family have been unsuccessful.
Both Tapp and Sargis are part of a loose group of friends Martinez
and Angie Dodge would see at their favorite hangouts: on the Greenbelt
and the cruise," in the Fred Meyer parking lot.
Dodge
The summer before she was murdered, Dodge mentioned she thought
Tapp was cute, Martinez said. She does not think anything came of the
attraction.
Martinez describes Tapp, a high school dropout who quit Skyline High
School in his sophomore year, as a druggie" and a partier." She believes
Dodge knew Tapp only in passing.
In July 1996, Tapp pleaded guilty to a charge of possession or use
of drug paraphernalia, according to court records. One of Tapp's friends
said he has since completed a drug treatment program and kicked his
drug habit, but efforts to reach Tapp and his family for comment have
been unsuccessful.
The murder is not believed to be drug-related, Idaho Falls Police
Chief Kent Livsey said.
Police have also taken a close look at another man who spent the summer

at Dodge's hangouts.
Benjamin Hobbs, 24, of Ely, Nev., was arrested Jan. 5 in Ely after
he allegedly sexually assaulted a woman he met at an Ely sports bar.
Hobbs allegedly threatened the woman with a knife, holding the blade
to her throat and cutting her hand, according to White Pine County,
Nevada, court documents.
Last summer, Hobbs was living in Rigby and knew Dodge, according to
court records and Martinez.
Idaho Falls Police Detective Ken Brown has made three fact-finding
trips to Nevada since Hobbs was arrested. So far, Hobbs has not been
charged in connection with the Dodge murder and may not be, Idaho Falls
Police Chief Kent Livsey said.
Martinez said she had hoped she would not know her friend's killers.
I have a lot of questions. Why?," Martinez said.
Shortly after Hobbs was arrested, Martinez received a phone call from
detectives investigating the Dodge murder. They asked what she knew
about the Ely man.
Although Martinez has been cooperative with police, many others who
know this group of people are not coming forward with information.
The arrest of Tapp has not quelled any of Martinez's fears about a
killer being on the loose, she said. I worry about myself every day,"
she said.
That same fear is keeping many people who shared the summer hangouts
from coming forward with information, Martinez said.
The silence makes solving the crime extremely difficult, said Chief
Livsey. Six investigators are now working on the case, he said. Before
receiving information that led them to Tapp, detectives conducted hundreds
of interviews and sent more than 30 DNA samples to forensics labs with
no success.
Police are urging those who knew the suspects this past summer or
who have information about the murder to come forward to police. Crime
Stoppers, (208) 522-1983, continues to offer its $5,000 reward for
tips that lead to an arrest.
Copyright 1997 by Post Register, All rights Reserved.