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Dawud M. Rogers, 42, will face trial on charges related to the Dec. 30, 2016 killing of William Michael Blackwell, who was gunned down in the 2000 block of Boyd Street, District Judge Christian Frey ruled following a Friday morning preliminary hearing.
Rogers has been charged with homicide, aggravated assault, illegal possession of a firearm, carrying a firearm without a license and possession of an instrument of crime.
Blackwell had multiple gunshot wounds, including to his abdomen, right wrist, right arm and torso, which was named as the cause of death, city police Agent Aaron Levan testified at the hearing.
He was unconscious and unresponsive, but had a heartbeat when paramedics arrived, according to court testimony. He was later pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital.
Nine 9mm bullet casings were found near Blackwell’s body, with three more several feet back, Levan said. All casings were fired from the same firearm, which has never been recovered.
A witness who was with Rogers in the hours leading up to the shooting testified that Rogers had accompanied him to a local auto repair shop along Boyd Street to get tags for a vehicle they were driving, described as a blue-ish gray Volkswagen sedan.
The witness stated that he walked into the shop just after the victim, who had arrived separately to pick up his own recently repaired vehicle, as Rogers waited in the passenger seat of the vehicle.
Blackwell later exited the business as the witness continued speaking with a mechanic, and a short time later, several gunshots were heard and he then exited the backdoor of the shop, he said.
During cross-examination, the witness went back and forth as to whether he had actually seen the shooting take place, ultimately stating that he saw a figure dressed all in black and donning a black ski mask firing a gun.
Pushed by defense attorney Peter Lovecchio on whether the shooter matched Roger’s description, the witness responded, "I’m not Superman. I can’t see through clothes," though upon redirect by Assistant District Attorney Matthew Welickovitch, the witness clarified that the clothing worn by the shooter was consistent with that worn by Rogers during their time together.
Surveillance video from a nearby club that captured the shooting around 3 p.m. was obtained by city police, original lead investigator Retired Agent Edward Lucas testified.
Interviews with those in the shop, as well as a neighbor who witnessed the shooting, and forensic evidence, corroborated the footage, Lucas said.
The video, played at the proceedings, showed a mechanic escort Blackwell to his vehicle before returning to the shop to retrieve the victim’s keys, leaving Blackwell alone at the car.
A tall, thin man dressed all in black then exits the Volkswagen, parked across from Blackwell, approaches him from behind, and fires several shots into him. The shooter then starts to return to the car but turns around and fires several more shots at Blackwell.
"He’s a coward, that’s why," one family member of Blackwell exclaimed as footage of the shooting played.
Upon its completion, Lovecchio immediately objected to entering the video into evidence, arguing that no one with firsthand knowledge of the video or its contents was called to testify.
Welickovitch countered that Lucas had canvassed the neighborhood, including the source of the captured footage, which Lovecchio labeled "secondhand knowledge."
Frey allowed its admission for the purposes of the preliminary hearing.
Though not referred to as a motive, Lucas testified that roughly a week before the shooting, Blackwell "beat up, knocked out, and robbed" Rogers outside of a South Williamsport bar.
Cell phone video of the aftermath showing Rogers laying on the pavement of the parking lot was collected by police, the agent said.
Rogers was uncooperative with hospital staff following the incident, providing them with a false identification, prompting them to contact police.
He told officers that he had been robbed by "two men down the street," Lucas said. As a result, no charges were ever filed against Blackwell.
With no argument or witnesses called by the defense, Frey ruled that the prosecution had established a case for the charges against Rogers to move forward.
No trial date has been set at this time.
Charges in the case were filed on Sept. 8, just three months shy of seven years after the shooting.
At the time, he was serving a sentence at the Allenwood Penitentiary on a 2018 federal possession with intent to distribute heroin charge. He pleaded guilty in April 2018 and was sentenced to 10 years in prison followed by six years' supervised release.