In a tragic series of events on November 13, 2021, in Spartanburg, SC, Lamar Douglas Jones, a male, was found deceased in the backseat of a burning car. The discovery was made by firefighters who were initially responding to a one-car collision on Blanchard Road involving a Jaguar that had struck a tree. A short distance away, they found a second vehicle, a Ford sedan, engulfed in flames. After extinguishing the fire, they discovered Mr.
Jones's body in the backseat; he had sustained multiple gunshot wounds.
The investigation into the homicide quickly identified three suspects: Jamarous D'Angelo Rogers, Joseph English, and Jaylan Whiteside. Investigators determined that all three men were with Mr. Jones in the Ford sedan when Rogers shot and killed him. Following the shooting, they attempted to destroy the evidence by setting the car on fire using gasoline and tequila. While trying to flee the scene in the Jaguar, English crashed the vehicle into a tree. The three men then fled the crash site on foot. DNA evidence from the airbag of the wrecked Jaguar linked Rogers to the vehicle, and the firearm used in the murder was found on the front passenger floorboard.
In December 2021, Jamarous D'Angelo Rogers was arrested and charged with murder, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Joseph English, 19, and his half-brother, 17-year-old Jaylen Whiteside, were also arrested and faced charges including accessory after the fact of murder. The investigation was a collaborative effort between the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.
The legal process concluded in April 2024. Jamarous Rogers pleaded guilty to murder and arson, receiving a 30-year prison sentence. Joseph English and Jaylan Whiteside both pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact of murder. They were each sentenced to ten years in prison, suspended to five years to be served, followed by five years of probation. The successful prosecution was aided by the cooperation of English, Whiteside, and Rogers' girlfriend, who all agreed to testify for the state.
