Man shot by trooper will not face retrial
A Georgetown man who was shot by a Delaware State Police officer in August 2013 has pleaded no contest to charges of resisting arrest with force.
Michael W. Rogers, now 54, accepted a plea and will not face a second trial. Rogers’ first trial ended in a mistrial in June 2014. Prosecutors decided to retry Rogers on charges of second-degree assault against a police officer and resisting arrest with force or violence.
By pleading no contest, Rogers is not pleading guilty, but he acknowledges he could be convicted if the case again went to trial.
Rogers and his attorney, Jerome Capone, appeared before Delaware Superior Court Judge T. Henley Graves June 5 to enter the plea. Clad in an olive suit with graying hair, Rogers answered yes when Graves asked whether Rogers understands he is giving up his trial rights by taking a plea.
In August 2013, Delaware State Police Trooper Matthew Morgan went to Rogers’ home to question him about a parking complaint. Morgan testified Rogers was combative and threatened him, and the two scuffled. Morgan shot Rogers five times and grazed him with one shot; Rogers was taken to Beebe Healthcare where he was admitted for his gunshot wounds. Rogers was charged with second-degree assault of a police officer and resisting arrest with force or violence – both felonies.
At trial, Rogers and his mother testified they felt threatened by Morgan, who came to their home at 10 p.m. to question Rogers about a parking lot incident at a bar earlier that evening. Both Rogers and his mother said Rogers flipped a coffee table, which he used to shield himself from the trooper's bullets. Morgan testified that Rogers picked up the table and threatened him with it. Morgan was later cleared of any wrongdoing in the shooting.
Capone said Rogers’ crime occurred before Gov. Jack Markell signed into law new penalties regarding offenses against police officers. Capone said Rogers should be sentenced under the old statute, with a maximum of 12 months probation. Graves agreed with Capone, with no objection from prosecutor David Hume. Rogers will be sentenced Friday, July 17.
