Joshua M. Rogers of Memphis, Tennessee, has pleaded guilty to a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1512(c) for his role in destroying evidence related to a police officer’s fatal shooting of a man identified by the initials R.H.
With the plea, Rogers admitted that he acted to impair the integrity or availability of R.H.’s body for use in an official proceeding and, in so doing, shield his co-defendant from criminal liability.
Rogers and his co-defendant, a former Memphis Police Department officer, faced charges following the death of R.H. The indictment alleged that, on January 5, 2021, the officer kidnapped R.H. and shot him in the head.
The indictment further alleged that Rogers and the officer sought to cover up the fatal shooting by disposing of R.H.’s body. Specifically, Rogers and the officer transported R.H.’s body in Rogers’ vehicle and affixed chains, padlocks, and cinder blocks to R.H.’s body.
Rogers and the officer then drove to the Wolf River in Memphis, where the two dumped R.H.’s body.
“The defendant in this case obstructed law enforcement from investigating and seeking justice on behalf of the victim, his family and friends,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for August 6. Rogers faces a maximum penalty of 70 months in prison based on the terms of the plea agreement.
The remaining defendant faces civil rights, kidnapping, weapons, and obstruction charges in connection with the fatal shooting of R.H. The Trial is set for November 3.
