Spokane jury convicts man of murder in 2022 stabbing downtown
Jul. 15—A Spokane jury convicted 31-year-old Taylor Rogers on Monday for the 2022 murder of Jimmie Bailey.
Bailey died nine days after he was stabbed in the lower abdomen while downtown at Pacific Avenue and State Street.
"Jimmie was a man that did not like violence yet we lost him to the violence of Spokane Washington," reads the obituary for Bailey, who had "a trusting heart, which also made him a target to be taken advantage of."
A witness told police a man walked up to Bailey asking for "Ricco." Bailey told the man he didn't know Ricco, the witness said. Rogers then pulled about a 12-inch knife out and stabbed Bailey before running to an SUV. Police found no evidence that Rogers and Bailey knew each other.
Throughout trial, prosecutors told the jury how Rogers appeared on multiple surveillance footage cameras before the stabbing. His girlfriend's Dodge Journey was shown to the jury fleeing the scene with a driver who matched the description of what Rogers was wearing that night.
Security footage showed Bailey walk to a dark SUV parked in front of a business at 130 S. Division St. The person in the vehicle, identified as Rogers, and Bailey appeared to speak to one another.
Rogers then got out and walked to Bailey, who was still standing near the vehicle. The two appeared to speak for a while before what appeared to be brief physical contact between them. Rogers got back into the driver's seat, and Bailey walked directly in front of the vehicle. He appeared to try to prevent the driver from leaving by almost crawling on top of the hood. Bailey can be heard on the video asking for help.
"If Mr. Rogers was not the one who stabbed Mr. Bailey, then why was his car fleeing the crime scene?" Spokane County deputy prosecutor Joseph Edwards told the jury.
Roger's attorneys argued during closing statements that the surveillance videos were not clear enough to prove Rogers was guilty of murder.
"It's a crappy video. It's really what it is," attorney Derek Reid told the jury . "There is more than enough reasonable doubt in this case."
Police were also able to trace Rogers' cell phone data locations from Medical Lake to downtown in the vicinity of the stabbing, investigators testified during trial. When Rogers drove away from the scene, he showed up at his mother's house in Spokane Valley, intoxicated and upset.
Rogers, who had blood on his hands, told his mother he stabbed a girl in the neck and that stabbing her sexually aroused him, court records say. He head-butted her in the face and drove away in the Dodge Journey until he crashed into a pole nearby.
Forensic experts testified they did find blood in the SUV, but it only matched Rogers. A business card of Roger's parole officer was also found inside the car.
Bailey was the survivor of three previous stabbings, KREM 2 reported. He said he couldn't sleep at night and that he had come to Spokane to recover from another attack and a rollover crash in Montana.
After the verdict, Rogers showed little emotion besides mumbling something to Spokane County Superior Court Judge Julie McKay. He was led out in handcuffs.
