On a cold evening in Shawnee, Kansas, on November 30, 2022, the life of a 25-year-old Caucasian male named Jarod C. Rogers was tragically cut short. Rogers had made arrangements to meet a 17-year-old girl, Kyleigh Guzman, in the 11000 block of Johnson Drive, under the pretense of selling her marijuana. Unbeknownst to him, this meeting was a setup for a robbery orchestrated by five teenagers. The plan, discussed via text messages hours earlier, was to rob Rogers during the transaction.
Guzman had promised to pay Rogers for the marijuana via a cash app, a payment he would never receive.
Around 6:40 p.m., police were dispatched to the location to check on a person's welfare and discovered Jarod C. Rogers in a parking lot with a gunshot wound. He was rushed to a nearby hospital in critical condition. Tragically, Rogers succumbed to his injuries and passed away on December 2, 2022. The investigation into his death quickly revealed a conspiracy to rob him, allegedly involving a "big gun" that two of the teens took with them to confront Rogers. After hearing a gunshot, three of the teens who had been waiting in a car drove off, leaving the other two behind. Rogers' black Dodge Ram was later found in Missouri, believed to have been stolen by two of the suspects after the shooting.
The subsequent police investigation led to the swift apprehension of five suspects. One individual was arrested after a police pursuit that ended in Olathe. By the time of Rogers' death, a total of five people were in custody. The suspects were identified as 17-year-olds Sabrina Clark, Kyleigh Guzman, Roger Hernandez, and Fernando Gonzalez-Prado, along with 18-year-old Fernando Reyes-Lara. They faced serious charges, including first-degree murder, felony murder, aggravated robbery, and conspiracy to commit robbery. Prosecutors filed motions for the four juvenile suspects to be tried as adults.
In the ensuing legal proceedings, some of the accused took responsibility for their roles in the fatal robbery. Fernando Reyes-Lara pleaded guilty to second-degree intentional murder and two counts of aggravated robbery. Fernando Gonzalez-Prado also pleaded guilty to second-degree intentional murder and aggravated robbery. The court cases for the others involved have been proceeding, with one being sentenced as a juvenile and another, Kyleigh Guzman, being charged as an adult. Sentences for those convicted have been substantial, with Roger Hernandez and Kyleigh Guzman receiving lengthy prison terms for second-degree murder and aggravated robbery, and Fernando Reyes-Lara receiving a sentence of over 33 years.
