Attorneys ready to proceed in retrial of ex-KCSO deputy convicted of killing woman, pregnant teen
Nov. 16—Attorneys said they were ready Wednesday to proceed to retry a former Kern County Sheriff's deputy convicted in 1988 of murdering a woman and 15-year-old girl after the California Supreme Court overturned his death penalty sentence.
The murder convictions of David Keith Rogers, 75, were upheld by the California State Supreme Court but Rogers' case was remanded to Kern County Superior Court for jurors to decide if he should spend the rest of his life in prison without parole, or if he should be resentenced to the death penalty.
Chief assistant public defender Tanya Richard, prosecutor Eric Smith and Kern County District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer all said they were ready to proceed to trial.
Jurors convicted Rogers of first-degree murder and second-degree murder for Tracie Clark and Janine Benintende, 20, respectively.
But Tambri Butler, a witness who testified at trial that Rogers assaulted and raped her, reneged on her testimony, which was used by the late trial judge Gerald K. Davis to uphold a jury's recommendation of death, according to The Californian's previous reporting.
"I am now more concerned than ever that I wrongly identified David Rogers as the man who attacked me," Butler said, according to a decision handed down by the California Supreme Court.
Butler said there were black splotches or moles on her assailant's lower back. She testified at an evidentiary hearing that Rogers does not have those markings, according to the decision.
Her testimony was also found to be unreliable because of inconsistencies in her testimony, according to the decision.
Judge John W. Lua ruled on several motions Wednesday, including allowing jurors to know that Clark was pregnant when she was murdered, calling upon victims' family members to testify via Zoom because they live far away and allowing jurors to visit the crime scene.
Wednesday morning's hearing was paused after Rogers slumped over, which prompted defense attorney Richard to request a break in the proceedings. After the gallery was led outside, medical personnel with a stretcher entered the courtroom. The hearing resumed after they exited without Rogers.
Lua never addressed what ailment, if any, plagued Rogers. Richard did not answer a question after the hearing about why her client needed medical attention.
Both victims, who were prostitutes, were killed near the Arvin-Edison canal. They were killed by bullets issued to deputies, according to The Californian's previous reporting. An eyewitness connected Rogers to the murder, the decision added.
Rogers has also admitted to killing Clark, but has never confessed to murdering Benintende, the decision said.
Lua said a jury could be empaneled by January, and the trial would commence soon after.
You can reach Ishani Desai at 661-395-7417. You can also follow her at @_ishanidesai on Twitter.
