Inset: Joshua Rogers (Shelby County Jail via WREG). Screenshot: Former Memphis police Officer Patrick Ferguson (WMC/YouTube).
A Tennessee man who helped an on-duty Memphis cop dump the body of a victim allegedly murdered in a patrol car has pleaded guilty.
Joshua M. Rogers, 33, faces up to 70 months — or 5 years, 10 months — behind bars after he entered a guilty plea on Thursday, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a press release. According to feds, Memphis police Officer Patric J. Ferguson on Jan. 5, 2021, kidnapped 30-year-old Robert Lee Howard Jr. at his home at gunpoint and forced him into his patrol car, where he shot him in the head.
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Prosecutors say Ferguson then enlisted the help of Rogers to dispose of the body. They transferred the body to Rogers’ car where they “affixed chains, padlocks, and cinder blocks” to the corpse and drove to the Wolf River in Memphis where they dumped the body.
“The defendant in this case obstructed law enforcement from investigating and seeking justice on behalf of the victim, his family and friends,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a statement. “I am proud of the great work by the Department of Justice in their prosecution of this case.”
Sentencing is set for Aug. 6.
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As Law&Crime previously reported, Ferguson, 34, is facing state charges of murder, kidnapping, tampering with evidence, abuse of a corpse, official misconduct and official oppression. In May 2024, a federal grand jury issued an eight-count indictment with charges including federal civil rights, kidnapping and weapons offenses.
Both cases remain ongoing. The federal case is slated for a Nov. 3 trial, while Ferguson has a court hearing next month in the state case.
Howard’s girlfriend reported him missing the day after the killing. Authorities recovered Howard’s body on Jan. 10, 2021. Cops arrested Ferguson and Rogers a few days later. A state grand jury indicted them in May 2021. The federal grand jury also indicted Rogers for conspiring to cover up the fatal shooting and destroying evidence.
The Memphis Commercial Appeal obtained a probable cause affidavit that said investigators found that Ferguson made searches on his phone about how to clean up crime scenes and destroy evidence. He also bought cinder blocks, chains and padlocks that were used in the disposal of Howard’s body, the affidavit reportedly said.
Cops haven’t given a motive for the killing.
Howard’s family also sued Ferguson in federal court, claiming unlawful seizure, false arrest and excessive force.
