‘CROSS-COUNTRY KILLER’: SUSPECT ARRESTED : ‘It Wasn’t Gonna Be Me’ : Murder Suspect’s Capture Brings Relief to Local Bartender Who Spurned Him

Within minutes of hearing the news, an ecstatic Rein Keener rushed outside McRed’s Cocktail Lounge and hung a hastily scribbled sign: “Thanks to the police. Serial killer caught. 11/13/95 12:20 p.m., Kentucky.”

Inside, as a dozen patrons ordered drinks to celebrate, the bar owner seized the moment and ordered up his own sign:

“Glen Rogers caught. Ladies 1/2 price on all drinks.”

Dramatic television footage of Rogers’ arrest captivated viewers across the country Monday. But at McRed’s, where Rogers had once been a regular, the footage brought relief and prompted odd toasts, with bar regulars smiling and hoisting their drinks as Rogers’ familiar face flashed on television.

Keener, a bartender at McRed’s, had spurned Rogers the same night he met up a Santa Monica woman there and allegedly strangled her and set her body afire.

McRed’s became closely associated with the hunt for the accused serial killer, not only because Rogers allegedly found a local victim there but also because of the dramatic contrast with what may have been Keener’s narrow escape.

When the TV above the bar interrupted soap operas with videotape of Rogers being thrown to the ground and handcuffed by police in Kentucky, Keener broke into tears.

While Rogers was on the run from police, Keener said, a man who sounded like him telephoned to threaten her.

“You will pay,” the caller told her, she said.

Nightmares filled with “that look in his eyes--that anger” had taken over Keener’s nights, she said.

“I’ve been restless and unable to sleep for the last few days,” she said, flipping her hair back. “Even the newspaper hitting my doorstep this morning scared me.”

Since the harrowing call, Keener wouldn’t make a move without a .38 pistol on her hip.

Her apartment filled with friends and a few undercover cops kept vigil as well, in case Rogers decided to show up. Even so, she said she had to be ready to defend herself if Rogers came.

“It wasn’t gonna be me,” Keener said. “It was gonna be him if it came down to it.”

A 24-year-old USC law student with hopes of tracing prosecutor Marcia Clark’s footsteps in criminal law, Keener said the thought of grilling Rogers in court was appealing to her. And if Rogers is brought back to Los Angeles, she promised to watch the trial in person.

As Keener talked with reporters, patrons and workers exchanged smiles and wove theories on how the fugitive was brought down.

“I don’t know why Glen didn’t change his appearance,” said a waitress named Tracy, flipping cigarette ashes into an ashtray. “Maybe he thought people would be watching for a different look. He probably thought about it.”

As TV camera crews showed up Monday to record the scene, the bar’s longtime customers complained that strangers were coming in and posing as regulars who knew Rogers so they could get on television.

“Since this happened, a lot of people have come out of the woodwork,” said regular Pete Angelesco, a construction worker.

The McRed’s fixtures chuckled as they shared “poser” stories. Their favorite: the guy who came in claiming to have a handwritten note from Rogers.

A big debate centered on the effect of all the publicity the gritty saloon is getting.

Probably a good thing, Angelesco mused.

“A bunch of bull,” Pracki said. “It’s all hype.”