After mistrial, state to retry man shot in his home

The Attorney General's Office has decided to retry a Georgetown man on charges of assaulting a police officer who went to the man's home to deliver a traffic ticket. The arresting officer shot defendant Michael Rogers five times during the incident that led to his arrest.

A mistrial was called in June after jurors could not agree on a verdict.

At the first trial, Rogers was charged with second-degree assault of a police officer, a felony, and resisting arrest. However, during jury instruction, Sussex County Superior Court Judge T. Henley Graves dropped the original assault charge to third-degree assault, stating the prosecution failed to prove all elements of the original charge. Third-degree assault is a misdemeanor.

Rogers' mother, Lorraine, said several jurors smiled at her when they were excused from jury duty, leading her to believe they thought her son was innocent.

“They don't usually smile at you if they voted unfavorably,” she said.

Rogers' defense attorney Steve Norman said the new trial is scheduled to begin Monday, Nov. 17, in Sussex County Superior Court.

Joe Rogalsky, spokesman for the Attorney General's Office, said Rogers will be tried on his original charges – second-degree assault of a police officer and resisting arrest.