In the spring of 2012, the life of 19-year-old Keiontre Laquan Rodgers of Suffolk, Virginia, was cut short by a fatal encounter in the neighboring city of Portsmouth. On the evening of March 18, Rodgers found himself at a BP gas station located on Frederick Boulevard. An altercation ensued, the details of which would later be recounted in a courtroom, forever altering the course of two young lives.
While Rodgers was seated in his Dodge Avenger at a gas pump, he was approached by an assailant who fired a gun, striking him in the back.
Despite the grave injury, Rodgers attempted to escape the scene, driving his vehicle away from the gas station. However, the gunshot wound proved to be fatal. He succumbed to his injuries while behind the wheel, causing his car to crash into a utility pole at the intersection of Frederick and Deep Creek Boulevards. Portsmouth police officers who were in the vicinity and heard the gunshots responded to the scene at approximately 9:12 p.m., where they discovered Rodgers deceased in the driver's seat of his car.
The investigation into the shooting quickly identified a suspect, 19-year-old Jeff Barnes of Portsmouth. A warrant was issued for his arrest, and on March 23, 2012, Barnes was apprehended in North Carolina by officers from the Gaston County Police Department and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department. He was subsequently charged with murder and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
In November of 2012, Jeff Barnes appeared in court and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. During the legal proceedings, it was revealed that an exchange of words between Barnes and Rodgers preceded the deadly shooting. In February 2013, a judge sentenced Barnes to 30 years in prison for the murder, with three years of the sentence suspended. He received an additional three-year sentence for the firearm charge, bringing the total active prison time to 30 years for his role in the death of Keiontre Rodgers.
