Prosecutors seek death penalty against North Idaho man accused of murder

Kootenai County prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against the 47-year-old man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend’s new partner earlier this year in Post Falls.

Jason M. Rook was arrested in Coeur d’Alene on Feb. 26, three days after prosecutors say Rook shot and killed 46-year-old Nathan Rogers at a home Rogers shared with his girlfriend.

Rook faces one count each of first-degree murder, burglary, first-degree stalking and destroying evidence, according to online court records. He pleaded not guilty to all counts April 3.

Kootenai County Prosecuting Attorney Stanley Mortensen alleged several “aggravating circumstances” warrant Rook being sentenced to death if convicted of murder, according to a notice of intent to seek the death penalty filed May 30.

They include that the killing “was especially heinous, atrocious or cruel, manifesting exceptional depravity,” that Rook “created a great risk of death to many persons” and that the killing was in the commission of a burglary, according to Mortensen.

In response, Rook’s defense attorneys in the last week filed multiple motions, including one to strike the death penalty on the grounds that the right to a “speedy trial prevents effective assistance of counsel in death penalty cases.”

A jury or judge must find at least one aggravating circumstance beyond a reasonable doubt to sentence a defendant to death, according to Idaho statute.

The charges stem from late February, when Rook was waiting at Rogers’ house with a gun and a mask, according to court documents. Rogers, who owned Inland Kava Bar in Coeur d’Alene, then came home.

Rogers’ girlfriend, who was not home, noticed on the Ring camera app on her phone that a man was wandering near the house. Another video she watched showed the man, whom she identified as her ex-boyfriend Rook, shoot Rogers.

Leading up to the killing, Rook was harassing Rogers’ girlfriend with messages saying they should be together, according to documents.

Post Falls Police Lt. Brian Harrison said Rook was hiding in his vehicle, which was backed into a garage at an apartment complex that is under construction, when he was arrested.

Online court records indicate Rook is scheduled for motion hearings in July and August and trial in September.