Residents of Fort Wayne, Indiana, were shaken by a violent incident on the morning of April 9, 2017, involving 22-year-old Marcus Rogan, a Black male who lost his life in a targeted attack. Known to his friends and family by the nickname "Brolly," Rogan was an aspiring musician and a father to a young daughter. He had spent the late hours of that Saturday night and the early hours of Sunday morning at the Bleu Diamond Showclub, a popular strip club located on Lima Road.
The venue was packed to capacity for a public party, with security guards checking patrons for weapons at the entrance. Rogan was accompanied by a group of friends and relatives, enjoying the festivities near the club's stage area as the night wore on.
Around 4:00 a.m., the atmosphere in the club turned chaotic when a man, later identified as James E. Starks III, also known by the street names "Peanut" or "Nut," made his way through the crowd toward the stage. Witnesses reported that Starks produced a handgun and opened fire without warning. The gunfire created immediate panic as patrons scrambled for cover. Rogan was struck ten times in the barrage, sustaining fatal wounds to his head, neck, shoulders, chest, and abdomen. The shooting also left three other individuals injured, though they survived the assault. In the aftermath of the violence, the club faced significant scrutiny from local authorities, receiving multiple administrative citations which eventually contributed to its closure.
For several years, the investigation into Rogan's death appeared to progress slowly, leaving his grieving family to advocate for justice. It was not until November 2021 that authorities formally charged Starks with the crime. At the time of the charges, Starks was already incarcerated within the Indiana Department of Correction, serving a sentence for unrelated convictions involving battery and handgun violations. Law enforcement officials utilized surveillance footage from the club and witness testimony to build their case, alleging that Starks was the gunman responsible for the bloodshed that morning.
The legal proceedings culminated in a trial where a jury found Starks guilty of murder, criminal recklessness, and carrying a handgun without a license. During the sentencing phase, the court weighed Starks' extensive criminal history and the brutal nature of the offense. He received a sentence of sixty-three years for the murder charge, five years for criminal recklessness, and an additional twenty-year enhancement for the use of a firearm in the commission of the crime. The sentences were ordered to be served consecutively, resulting in a total prison term of eighty-eight years. An appeal filed by Starks was subsequently reviewed by the Court of Appeals of Indiana in May 2024, which affirmed the conviction and the sentence, ensuring he would remain behind bars for the foreseeable future.
