The State : Deputy Guilty of 2 Killings

A former Kern County sheriff’s deputy was found guilty of murdering two prostitutes. David Keith Rogers was expressionless as a Superior Court jury convicted him of first-degree murder in the death of Tracie Joanna Clark, 15, who was killed Feb. 8, 1987. The jury, which deliberated about 1 1/2 days, also found Rogers guilty of second-degree murder in the Feb. 21, 1986, shooting of Jeanine Benentende, 21. Rogers’ wife, Jo, sobbed as the verdicts were read. The ex-deputy could be sent to the gas chamber for the fatal shooting of Clark. The trial’s penalty phase begins March 23. Detectives said Rogers admitted shooting Clark during an argument over payment for a sex act. Rogers has claimed that he did not kill Benentende, but ballistics tests show that both women were shot with the same gun.