Shooter guilty in bar killing|[9/30/05]
Published 12:00 am Friday, September 30, 2005
Jurors didn’t believe Reginald Rogers’ claim of self-defense and ended his three-day trial Thursday by finding him guilty of manslaughter in the shooting death of Danny Woodland and aggravated assault for wounding two others.
Warren County Circuit Judge Isadore Patrick, after hearing the verdict, set sentencing for 9 a.m. Oct. 14. A 60-year prison term is possible if maximums are assigned consecutively on each count.
Woodland, 32, was shot several times on Aug. 2, 2004, in the crowded Hill Top Lounge, 1515 Washington St., but Assistant District Attorney John Bullard said the evidence showed he was down and posed no threat as Rogers stood over him and fired one round into his head.
It was not disputed, however, that Woodland fired first, shooting Rogers, 29, 2006 Pearl St., through the chest as a dispute over a girlfriend escalated.
Woodland was shot three times from angles that showed he was likely prone, state medical examiner Dr. Stephen Hayne testified during the trial. One of those, to the back of his head, was lethal, Hayne said.
“You can’t just kill a man like that,” Bullard told jurors in his closing argument Thursday. “(Rogers) is guilty at that point of manslaughter in the heat of passion because it wasn’t self-defense.”
Rogers testified Wednesday, denying that he shot Woodland while he was face-down. Rogers’ attorney, James “Buck” Penley, noted in his closing argument that in Hayne’s testimony he had left open the possibility that Woodland may have been on his feet when any of the shots that struck him were fired. Penley argued all the shots Rogers fired – including any that may have struck others in the club – were in self-defense.
“Mr. Rogers was motivated by this man’s choice,” Penley said, emphasizing that Woodland shot first. “Circumstances were beyond (the defendant’s) control. He tried to get away or to eliminate the danger to him, and that’s all he did.” Both men had .45-caliber handguns. Rogers was charged after being released from River Region Medical Center.
The aggravated assault counts accused Rogers of wounding Lakeia S. Green, then 25, 47 Scenic Drive; and Christopher Henderson, then 30, 1005 Urban Court. Two other people were also wounded by flying bullets.
Green and Henderson both testified, with Green saying she saw Rogers shoot in her direction and Henderson saying Rogers shot him.
Patrick gave jurors an option on each aggravated assault charge to convict Rogers on a charge of simple assault, a misdemeanor with a lower standard of proof.
Bullard told jurors he thought the facts of the case supported convictions on both charges of aggravated assault because Rogers showed “an extreme indifference to human life.”
“If he pulls out a gun in a crowded bar and starts blazing away with it, then he is accountable for whoever else is shot,” Bullard said. “To me, he is legally responsible for whoever else he shot.”
Closing arguments were Thursday morning and jurors deliberated 5 1/2 hours. Patrick announced it about 6:20 p.m. with about 35 people in the courtroom.
Police investigating the shootings recovered eight shell casings inside or just outside the club and seven bullets inside. About 35 witnesses were interviewed.
Chief Tommy Moffett of the Vicksburg Police Department said he was happy that Rogers was convicted.
“I think the jury sent a message, a clear message, that they don’t want individuals shooting up the City of Vicksburg,” said Moffett, who padlocked the club as a crime scene the night of the shootings.
Within days, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen sought Warren County Chancery Court injunctions to close Hill Top Lounge, saying illegal alcohol sale and gaming had also occurred there. Later, the city, the nightclub’s owners and the landlord reached an agreement that Hill Top would not reopen.
Woodland’s mother, Katherine Woodland, has filed a civil lawsuit alleging that security at the lounge was inadequate when the shooting occurred and that the building’s owner, the men who owned and operated the lounge and the promoter of the event that night are liable. The building’s owner and at least one of Hill Top Lounge’s former managers have filed responses denying the allegations. The suit remains pending.