A Tennessee man has pleaded guilty to helping a cop cover up a man’s kidnapping and execution in January 2021.
Joshua M. Rogers, 33, has pleaded guilty to destroying evidence in the case involving former Memphis Police Department officer Patric Ferguson. Ferguson allegedly kidnapped Robert Howard and shot him in the head, according to Actionnews 5.
According to the station, Ferguson continues to face state murder charges as well as federal charges of kidnapping, civil rights violations, and weapons charges.
Rogers admitted to federal prosecutors that he helped dispose of Howard’s body. In his plea, Rogers admitted to transporting the boy in his vehicle with Ferguson. Howard’s body was then padlocked and chained to cinder blocks before being dumped into the Wolf River.
“The defendant in this case obstructed law enforcement from investigating and seeking justice on behalf of the victim, his family, and friends,” stated Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “I am proud of the great work by the Department of Justice in their prosecution of this case.”
The sentencing hearing is scheduled for August 6. Rogers faces a maximum sentence of 70 months in prison under the terms of the plea agreement.