By Linda Cicoira — Drug distribution charges filed in Northampton County last year will not be prosecuted against Roquan Lee’teq “Cake” Rogers, the accused shooter in the 2017 murder-for-hire scheme of an Eastern Shore Drug Task Force informant in Accomack.
Commonwealth’s Attorney Beverly Leatherbury filed papers in Northampton Circuit Court late last month that stated there wasn’t enough evidence to convict Rogers, 20, of
Benjamin Banneker Street in Exmore, of possession with the intent to distribute cocaine, dibutylone (also known as bath salts), and between a half-ounce and five pounds of marijuana and three counts of conspiracy to distribute the illegal drugs.
The charges are from Jan. 4, 2017 incidents. The action was approved by Judge Burke F. McCahill.
Meanwhile, Rogers is being held in Accomack County Jail as lawyers continue to file papers about what to do next about the murder-for-hire charges. A jury was convicted him of three counts of conspiracy but were deadlocked on nine other counts including attempted capital murder of Eastern Shore Drug Task Force informant, Nathaniel “Nate” Johnson, 31, and his then-girlfriend, on Oct. 31, 2017, at Linhaven Circle near Painter.
Both victims testified at Rogers’ trial that he was the person who shot them as they fled down the street.
The panel of six men and women recommended a total of 17 years in prison for Rogers. A breakdown showed 10 years for conspiracy to commit capital murder for hire, five years for conspiracy to commit capital murder involving a prisoner and two years for conspiracy to commit obstruction of justice.
However, when the jurors were polled, a man on the panel said he did not agree with the recommendation and the jury was discharged.
Lewis could decide the sentence himself or impanel another jury. If the latter is done, Lewis said the jury would be read the transcript omitting parts that were done in the absence of the jury or that the jury was told to ignore.
