Suspect Admits Helping Officer Dispose of Body in River After Murder

Having assisted an on-duty Memphis police officer in disposing of the body of a victim who was reportedly slain inside of a patrol cruiser, a guy from Tennessee has entered a guilty plea.

Following his guilty plea on Thursday, Joshua M. Rogers, who is 33 years old, faces a maximum sentence of seventy months in prison, which is equivalent to five years and ten months, according to a news release issued by the United States Department of Justice. On January 5, 2021, Memphis police officer Patric J. Ferguson allegedly kidnapped twenty-year-old Robert Lee Howard Jr. at his residence, held him at gunpoint, and then forced him into his patrol car, where he shot him in the head. This information comes from the federal government.

Afterwards, according to the prosecution, Ferguson had Rogers assist him in disposing of the deceased person’s body. Following the transfer of the body to Rogers’ vehicle, in which they “affixed chains, padlocks, and cinder blocks” to the deceased individual, they proceeded to the Wolf River in Memphis, where they disposed of the body.

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department issued a statement in which he stated that the defendant in this instance prevented law enforcement from investigating and pursuing justice on behalf of the victim, his family, and friends. The Department of Justice has done an outstanding job in their investigation and prosecution of this matter, and I am very pleased of them.

The date of the sentencing is August 6th.

Ferguson, who is 34 years old, is currently being investigated by the state for a variety of crimes, including murder, kidnapping, tampering with evidence, misuse of a corpse, official misconduct, and official oppression, as previously reported. In the month of May in the year 2024, a federal grand jury handed down an eight-count indictment that included allegations of federal human rights violations, kidnapping, and firearms offenses.

Both situations are still being examined. In the state case, Ferguson is scheduled to have a court hearing the following month, while the federal case is scheduled to go to trial on November 3.

Following the murder, Howard’s girlfriend reported that he was missing the following day. On January 10, 2021, the authorities were able to retrieve Howard’s body. A couple of days later, the police took Ferguson and Rogers into custody. They were held accountable by a state grand jury in May of 2021. In addition, Rogers was accused by the federal grand jury for conspiring to cover up the fatal shooting and for deleting evidence.

An affidavit of probable cause was received by the Memphis Commercial Appeal. According to the affidavit, detectives discovered that Ferguson had conducted searches on his phone regarding the methods of cleaning up crime scenes and destroying evidence. In addition, the affidavit also stated that he purchased cinder blocks, shackles, and padlocks, all of which were utilized in the process of disposing of Howard’s body.

A motive for the killing has not been provided by the police.

Ferguson was also sued by Howard’s family in federal court, alleging that he unlawfully seized their property, falsely arrested them, and used excessive force.