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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Monroe Street Killing Retold At Trial Prosecution Claims Shooting Cold-Blooded Not Self-Defense

A 19-year-old Spokane man on trial for murdering his former roommate knew the victim was unarmed but pulled the trigger twice anyway, a prosecutor told jurors Tuesday.

The attorney for Justin D. Rogers said he acted in self-defense.

After opening statements, jurors began hearing testimony in the first-degree murder trial, expected to last two weeks.

The shooting, which happened last Nov. 22 at a busy Monroe Street intersection, was the result of a feud between the men, Deputy Prosecutor Mark Lindsey said.

More than a year earlier, Rogers and the slain man, 23-year-old Christopher L. Thomas, had been roommates. But the friendship turned hostile after a series of thefts and verbal confrontations, Lindsey said.

Witnesses will testify the only person seen with a gun that day was Rogers, Lindsey said.

Rogers is also charged with second-degree attempted murder for wounding another man, 21-year-old Calvin White, in the same attack.

The day of the shooting, Rogers walked to a bus stop near York and Monroe shortly after noon.

White and Thomas spotted him as they drove past the corner in a friend’s pickup.

The driver pulled into a parking lot, and the men jumped out and approached Rogers, police said.

Minutes later, the three men were in the intersection, shouting at each other, according to David Squires, White’s cousin and the driver of the pickup.

“Then I saw a silver pistol come out of his (Rogers’) pocket, and he fired some bullets,” Squires testified.

Two bullets from Rogers’ pistol hit Thomas, who ran across the street and collapsed on the sidewalk. He died minutes later.

Squires said White ran to the opposite side of Monroe and stood next to a restaurant entrance.

Rogers walked quickly down a side street, then returned to the spot where White was standing, Squires testified.

“He pointed at Calvin and fired again,” the witness said.

Wounded twice in the abdomen, White was taken to Sacred Heart Medical Center. He has since recovered from his wounds.

In his opening statement, defense attorney Tracy Collins said Rogers learned several weeks before the shooting that Thomas had been threatening to kill him.

In October, Thomas went to Rogers’ mother’s home and demanded the return of several personal items he claimed Rogers left there, Collins said.

A week or two later, Thomas arrived at Rogers’ house with a pit bull he claimed had been taught to attack on command, Collins told the jury.

Around the same time, Thomas called another friend of Rogers’ and told him he’d acquired a .357 Magnum and that “Justin Rogers has had it,” Collins added.

After that meeting, Rogers started carrying a gun, expecting he may need it to protect himself, Collins told the jury.

The day of the shooting, Rogers feared for his life, thinking “he saw a gun inside the pants pocket of either White or Thomas,” Collins said.

, DataTimes