A Tennessee man who helped a Memphis police officer dispose of a murder victim’s body in a river was sentenced to nearly five years in federal prison on Wednesday.
Joshua M. Rogers, 33, received 56 months for destroying evidence after Officer Patric Ferguson kidnapped and fatally shot a man during his shift in January 2021, according to the Justice Department. He had previously pleaded guilty in May to obstruction charges.
Court documents revealed that Rogers helped Ferguson purchase chains, padlocks, and cinderblocks to weigh down the victim’s body. The two men then dumped the body in Memphis’ Wolf River on January 5, 2021.
Ferguson pleaded guilty to kidnapping and murdering the victim, identified as 30-year-old Robert Howard, and was sentenced earlier this month to 38 years in prison.
According to court records, Ferguson accessed a law enforcement database to locate Howard, who was involved with a woman Ferguson had previously dated. Using his official squad car, he kidnapped Howard from the woman’s house on January 5, 2021, and headed to an adjacent lot, where he fatally shot the victim.
Ferguson subsequently plotted with childhood friend Rogers to discard the victim’s corpse in Memphis’ Wolf River. The pair then disposed of the transport vehicle by selling it to a Mississippi metal recycler, the Tennessee Lookout reported.
Federal prosecutors from the Civil Rights Division and the Western District of Tennessee handled the case. The FBI Nashville office and the Memphis Police Department conducted the investigation.
The sentencing sends a clear message that civilians who aid corrupt officers in violent crimes face serious federal consequences.
