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Thread: Joseph Michael Rohrbacker Sentenced to LWOP in 2021 MS Murder of Lieutenant Michael Boutte

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    Moderator Bobsicles's Avatar
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    Joseph Michael Rohrbacker Sentenced to LWOP in 2021 MS Murder of Lieutenant Michael Boutte

    FDC41A9B-8626-4A2B-B0F1-EC1F5DADCE70.jpeg
    Rohrbacker (Left), Michael (Right)


    Coast grand jury indicts man on capital murder charge in Hancock deputy’s killing

    BY MARGARET BAKER

    A grand jury has indicted a Mississippi Coast man on charges of capital murder and other felony offenses in the Feb. 1 shooting death of Hancock County sheriff’s deputy Lt. Michael Boutte.

    Joseph Michael Rohrbacker, 31, is set for a Sept. 13 arraignment on the capital offense along with one count each of aggravated assault on a police officer and aggravated assault.

    Boutte was the first of two deputies to respond to a 911 call at Rohrbacker’s home on Earl C. Ladner Road shortly after 1 p.m. on Feb. 1. Rohrbacker fatally shot Boutte as he stepped out of his police car. A second deputy, Braxton Manuel, shot and injured Rohrbacker in an exchange of gunfire.

    Rohrbacker is being held without bond at the Harrison County jail.

    If convicted of capital murder, he faces a possible sentence of either death or life in prison without parole.

    The capital murder charge accuses Rohrbacker in the shooting death of Boutte while he was acting in his official capacity as a law enforcement officer, responding to what an investigator has referred to as possible welfare concern or suicide threat.

    Rohrbacker is charged with aggravated assault on a police officer for shooting at Manuel, who shot and injured Rohrbacker after Boutte had been fatally wounded.

    The other aggravated assault charge alleges Rohrbacker fired his shotgun at a neighbor.

    CHILD ABUSE ALLEGATIONS

    The day of shooting, Rohrbacker’s wife, Shannon, told the Sun Herald her husband had gone into a rage after his brother told him he had been reported for allegedly molesting a teenager in the family.

    The sexual abuse allegations had been turned over to the state Department of Child Protection Services for an investigation.

    After he learned the news, Rohrbacker reportedly started cussing, kicking, screaming and punching the seats in a car he was in. At the time, he had accompanied his wife to take the teenager and other children to school.

    Once he got back to the couple’s home, his wife said, no one could calm him. She attributed his condition to mental health issues, saying he suffers from bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

    Rohrbacker’s wife said he grabbed their dog, Scrappy, and cut his throat. He then got a 12-gauge shotgun — gifted to him by a relative — and allegedly fired a shot at neighbor.

    The 911 call came in at around 1 p.m., and initially Boutte and Manuel had responded to the home of Rohrbacker’s brother, who lives a few hundred yards away from the defendant.

    The family and a neighbor told deputies that Rohrbacker had been making suicidal threats, sliced his dog’s throat, had walked back to his home and could possibly be armed. The deputies then drove to Rohrbacker’s home, initially passing it then turning around.

    Rohrbacker later told authorities he just started firing random shots because he was trying to cause suicide by cop to end his life.

    The buckshot, however, hit Boutte, resulting in his death.

    CHILD SEX CRIME ALLEGATIONS

    The child sex crime allegations first surfaced after a school employee reported their suspicions of child molestation to CPS.

    In addition to capital murder and the aggravated assault charges, Rohrbacker was arrested on three counts of touching of a child for lustful purposes. But the sex crime charges were not included in the indictment, and they are being treated as a separate case.

    In addition, Hancock County deputies arrested Rohrbacker on three counts of contributing to the delinquency of a child and one count each of aggravated animal cruelty and intimidating a witness.

    https://amp.sunherald.com/news/local...254047543.html
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    Suspect accused of killing Hancock County deputy pleads not guilty

    By Lindsay Knowles

    HANCOCK COUNTY, Miss. (WLOX) - The man charged with capital murder in the death of Hancock County deputy Lt. Michael Boutte Sr. was back in court Tuesday for his arraignment.

    Joseph Michael Rohrbacker, 30, stood in the Hancock County Circuit Courtroom and pleaded not guilty to shooting the 57-year-old deputy on Feb. 1, 2021.

    Prosecutors say Boutte was responding to the suspect’s home on Caesar Necaise Road after allegations were made that Rohrbacker had molested younger family members. Before Boutte and another deputy arrived, Rohrbacker cut his dog’s throat, testified an agent with Mississippi Bureau of Investigations at a hearing earlier this year.

    The MBI agent said Boutte was shot twice and died from a shotgun blast to his head while he was still in his car. Rohrbacker then allegedly fired shots at the other Hancock County deputy, as well.

    Later, the agent said Rohrbacker admitted he was just randomly shooting at the deputies without intending to hit anyone because he was hoping to commit suicide by police.

    After being arrested for capital murder in the death of Lt. Boutte, Rohrbacker was charged with eight additional charges, including: three counts of child molestation; three counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor as a result of children being present when the dog’s throat was cut; one count of witness tampering; and, one count of aggravated cruelty to an animal.

    Rohrbacker is being held in Harrison County Adult Detention Center without bond. A jury trial has been set for Aug. 15, 2022. If convicted of capital murder, Rohrbacker could face the death penalty or life in prison without parole.

    Boutte was an eight-year law enforcement veteran and veteran of the United States Air Force.

    https://www.wlox.com/2021/09/14/susp...ds-not-guilty/
    Thank you for the adventure - Axol

    Tried so hard and got so far, but in the end it doesn’t even matter - Linkin Park

    Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever. - Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt

    I’m going to the ghost McDonalds - Garcello

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    Grand jury finds shooting of suspect charged in Hancock County deputy’s murder was justified

    By Lyndsey Knowles
    WDAM News

    HANCOCK COUNTY, Miss. (WLOX) - The deputies that opened fire on a murder suspect accused of killing a South Mississippi law enforcement officer were justified in doing so, according to a report from the grand jury that was released Friday.

    A secret grand jury in Hancock County convened during the August 2021 session and were presented evidence in the shooting of Joseph Michael Rohrbacker. After reviewing all of the evidence and circumstances, the grand jury found that no criminal conduct was conducted by the deputies.

    Multiple shots were fired at Rohrbacker on Feb. 1, 2021, after authorities say he shot Hancock County deputy Michael Boutte twice in the head, killing the long-time law enforcement officer.

    At the time of the shooting, Boutte and another deputy were responding to a home on Caesar Necaise Road after an incident began following allegations that Rohrbacker had molested younger family members. Before deputies arrived, however, investigators said Rohrbacker cut his dog’s throat. Then, Rohrbacker reportedly fired multiple shots in the direction of the two deputies.

    A MBI investigator would later testify in court that Rohrbacker admitted to randomly shooting at the deputies in the hopes that they would shoot him back so he could commit suicide by police.

    In addition to a capital murder charge in the death of Lt. Boutte, Rohrbacker is also facing eight other charges, which include three counts of child molestation, three counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor because the children were present when the dog’s throat was cut, one count of witness tampering, and one count of aggravated cruelty to an animal.

    Rohrbacker is being held at Harrison County Adult Detention Center without bond awaiting his trial date, which is currently set for Aug. 15, 2022.

    https://www.wdam.com/2021/11/19/gran...was-justified/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
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    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
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    Man who killed Hancock County deputy sentenced to life in prison

    By WLOX News Staff

    HARRISON COUNTY, Miss. (WLOX) - Monday afternoon, Joseph Rohrbacker was sentenced to life in prison.

    Rohrbacker was charged with shooting and killing Hancock County Deputy Michael Boutte in February 2021.

    Rohrbacker pled guilty to three counts- capital murder, aggravated assault and aggravated assault of a police officer- before being sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole.

    In the courtroom Monday, Boutte’s daughter and son gave victim impact statements.

    In March 2021, Rohrbacker initially pleading not guilty to shooting the deputy. He recently returned to a South Mississippi courtroom in March of this year, where his attorney hoped to make him ineligible for the death penalty.

    Lt. Boutte was shot and killed on February 1, 2021 while responding to Rohrbacker’s home. He was shot twice and died from a shotgun blast to his head while he was still in his car.

    https://www.wlox.com/2023/07/31/man-...d-life-prison/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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