BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — A former Kern County sheriff’s deputy who killed two prostitutes in the 1980s had his second penalty phase retrial postponed because a new attorney is being assigned to his case.
Chief Assistant Public Defender Tanya Richard said during a court hearing Monday she can no longer represent David Keith Rogers due to her recent judicial appointment, and another public defender will be selected by mid-week.
Judge John W. Lua set a status conference for Oct. 9, at which point he said he expects Rogers’ new attorney will have reviewed the “voluminous” records generated in the case and a new trial date can be scheduled. Lua canceled an Aug. 14 trial date.
A first retrial held earlier this year ended with a jury deadlocked 10-2 in favor of Rogers being sentenced to death. The jury had only two choices: death, or life without parole.
In 1988, Rogers was convicted of killing Janine Benintende, 20, in 1986 and Tracie Clark, 15, a year later, shooting them multiple times then dumping their bodies in the Arvin-Edison canal. Clark was three months pregnant when killed.
He was sentenced to death.
The state Supreme Court in 2019 overturned Rogers’ death sentence after determining a prosecution witness whose testimony was used during the penalty phase falsely testified he sexually assaulted her. His murder convictions remain intact.
