In the late evening of August 24, 2017, in Starkville, Mississippi, a young man's life was cut short. Deontay M. Rogers, a 20-year-old Black male, was shot at the Brooksville Gardens apartment complex. The incident, which occurred around 9:20 p.m., was one of three separate shootings that happened in the area that night, though authorities did not believe them to be related. Rogers was rushed to the OCH Regional Medical Center by a private vehicle, but tragically, he was pronounced dead upon arrival. His body was then sent to the Mississippi Crime Lab for an autopsy as the investigation into his death began, treating it as a homicide.
The investigation quickly led to a suspect, and on the same night as the shooting, an arrest was made. Tomas Bradford, a 16-year-old from Starkville, was taken into custody and charged with the murder of Deontay Rogers. In a grim turn of events, it was revealed that at the time of Rogers' death, Bradford was already out on bond for a separate murder and armed robbery that had occurred in 2016. Following his arrest for the shooting of Rogers, Bradford had an initial court appearance where his bond was set at a staggering $2,000,000. Subsequently, a judge revoked his bond from the previous charges, ensuring he would remain in custody.
The legal proceedings that followed took an unexpected turn. While Tomas Bradford faced a first-degree murder charge for the death of Deontay Rogers, the resolution of this charge would be tied to his previous crime. In April 2019, Bradford, then 18, reached a plea deal for the 2016 murder and armed robbery. He pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter and armed robbery in that case and was sentenced to a total of 30 years in prison. As a component of this plea agreement, the state agreed to retire the first-degree murder charge against him in connection with the death of Deontay Rogers.
