A former police officer is accused of kidnapping the new boyfriend of his ex-girlfriend and killing him in his cruiser.
Former Memphis police officer, Patric J. Ferguson, 32, has been slapped with federal charges over an on-duty kidnapping and murder, according to a news release from the US attorney's office. The ex-officer was indicted by a federal grand jury for kidnapping and destroying evidence in relation to a killing that took place in January 2021.
Another man, Joshua M. Rogers, who is not a police officer, was also indicted on charges of conspiring to cover up the shooting and destroying evidence. Prosecutors claim that while on duty, Ferguson kidnapped a man and shot him in the head inside his patrol car.
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He then allegedly collaborated with Rogers to dispose of the man's body in the Wolf River in Memphis. Rogers is accused of getting rid of the car used to transport the body by selling it at a scrap metal dealership.
The victim was only identified as R. H. by the US attorney's office. However, Ferguson has already faced charges in state court for first-degree murder, kidnapping, abuse of a corpse, official misconduct and other charges in the death of Robert Howard, with the circumstances of both cases being identical.
Ferguson's lawyer, William Massey, said the federal indictment was expected, but he did not comment further. Mr Howard's family spoke on the apparent motive for his killing, which they believe stemmed from a romantic relationship between the victim and a woman who previously dated Officer Ferguson.
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They described Mr Howard, a father of three, as a man with a passion for music who had a positive spirit, avoided drama, and was always willing to help others. His younger brother, Kortez Howard, told WREG at the time: "This is a prime example of good people being taken away from their families for no reason. My brother has never did nothing wrong to nobody.
"This hit me hard because I never could see me burying my brother. I would never think a police officer would kill my brother over something. Over just a little thing, a female. [My brother] never had a bad spirit. He never hung around no drama. No nothing.
"[Police should] better your staff. Better the people that you hire. Every good person that you hire ain’t out here to serve and protect us man. You don’t know what vengeance they have against us."
Rogers has also been charged in state court with tampering with evidence, abuse of a corpse and being an accessory after the fact. Ferguson and Rogers have been released on bail regarding the state charges, but it is unclear if they have been detained on the federal charges.