According to the Justice Department, Joshua M. Rogers pleaded guilty to a single federal count of obstruction of an official proceeding, for violating 18 U.S.C. § 1512(c) by destroying and concealing evidence (the victim’s body) to impair its use in an official proceeding.
The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division is the federal unit that enforces civil rights laws. It brings criminal cases (like prosecutions of police and other officials for abusing people’s rights) and civil cases (like lawsuits over discrimination in housing, employment, voting, education, disability rights, and hate crimes). It handled Ferguson’s federal civil-rights and obstruction case and Rogers’s related obstruction case because they involved an on‑duty officer’s fatal shooting and cover‑up, alleged to violate the victim’s constitutional rights.
In court filings and the federal press releases, the victim is identified only as “R.H.” to protect privacy. Local reporting and court records identify him as 30‑year‑old Robert Howard (also reported as Robert Lee Howard Jr.). Federal authorities commonly use initials for victims—especially in violent or sensitive cases—to avoid repeatedly publishing a victim’s full name and to limit harm to surviving family members.
Memphis police removed Patric J. Ferguson from duty and then fired him shortly after his January 2021 arrest on state murder and kidnapping charges, according to contemporaneous local reporting. He later resigned/was no longer employed by MPD when he pleaded guilty to federal charges; there is no public indication that MPD took additional internal disciplinary actions beyond his termination, and the federal press releases describe him as a “former” Memphis Police Department officer.
A 56‑month federal sentence means 56 months in prison followed by a term of supervised release set by the judge. Under 18 U.S.C. § 3624(b) and the First Step Act, most federal prisoners can earn up to 54 days of “good conduct time” per year off the sentence if they follow prison rules, so an eligible person with a 56‑month term typically serves about 85% of that time (roughly 47–48 months) before release to supervision, assuming no serious disciplinary issues and no extra reductions (like earned‑time credits) or additions.
Investigators relied primarily on Rogers’s own admissions in his federal plea, along with corroborating evidence from the investigation. In the plea documents summarized by the Justice Department, Rogers admitted that he helped Ferguson purchase chains, padlocks, and cinderblocks from a store, attach them to the victim’s body, and drive with Ferguson to the Wolf River to dispose of the body. Local coverage of the plea also notes investigators’ account that video, receipts, and other records showed Rogers picking up Ferguson, moving the body, and buying the items used to weigh it down.