Joshua M. Rogers, a resident of Memphis, Tennessee, has entered a guilty plea for his involvement in destroying evidence related to a police officer's fatal shooting of an individual identified as R.H. Rogers admitted to impairing the integrity or availability of R.H.'s body for use in an official proceeding and thereby shielding his co-defendant from criminal liability.
The charges against Rogers and his co-defendant, a former officer with the Memphis Police Department, arose following the death of R.H. The indictment stated that on January 5, 2021, the officer kidnapped R.H. and fatally shot him in the head. It further alleged that Rogers and the officer attempted to conceal the crime by disposing of R.H.'s body. They transported the body using Rogers' vehicle and attached chains, padlocks, and cinder blocks before dumping it into the Wolf River in Memphis.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division commented on the case: "The defendant in this case obstructed law enforcement from investigating and seeking justice on behalf of the victim, his family and friends." Dhillon also commended the Department of Justice for their efforts in prosecuting this case.
Rogers is scheduled for sentencing on August 6 and faces up to 70 months in prison according to his plea agreement. The sentence will be determined by a federal judge based on U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The remaining defendant is facing charges including civil rights violations, kidnapping, weapons offenses, and obstruction related to R.H.'s death. The trial is set for November 3.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI Memphis Field Office alongside the Memphis Police Department. Prosecutors involved include Trial Attorney MarLa Duncan from the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney David Pritchard for the Western District of Tennessee.