Loftis convicted of reckless endangerment in Rogers beating death

Chance Loftis appears before Judge Don Poole on Jan. 5, 2015.
Chance Loftis appears before Judge Don Poole on Jan. 5, 2015.
photo Chance Loftis appears before Judge Don Poole on Jan. 5, 2015.

A Hamilton County jury Friday rejected a charge of second-degree murder and instead found Chance Loftis guilty of reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor carrying less than a year in prison.

Loftis, 27, nodded as the verdict was read and sighed heavily, audibly, as he watched the jury file out of the courtroom.

"It was great," defense attorney Mary Sullivan Moore said afterward. "It was wonderful."

Loftis was charged in the 2012 death of Donald "PeeWee" Rogers, 46.

Fishermen found Rogers' body hanging out the side of his 14-foot jon boat in the Tennessee River. Deputies arrested Loftis and Travis Jenkins, 31, the last people to see Rogers alive, in Bradley County the next day. Both were charged with second-degree murder and aggravated animal cruelty in connection with the deaths of Rogers and his dog, a Yorkshire terrier named Braxton.

The cases were separated and prosecutors chose to try Loftis first. His conviction came after seven days of testimony and just under seven hours of jury deliberation.

Perhaps most crucial was the testimony of expert witness Dr. Donald Wright, who said the Hamilton County medical examiner's autopsy of Rogers should not have produced a conclusive cause of death. He called the examination "poor" and said he did not think Rogers died of blunt-force trauma, as Medical Examiner James Metcalfe testified for the prosecution.

"The dueling doctors brought about a lot of doubt, I think," Moore said.

Wright said Rogers could have died of strangulation or drowning. That supported Moore's alternate theory -- that after the two men beat him and left him alone in the boat, Rogers stood up and then fell into the boat's gunwale, causing his death.

During the trial, Jenkins testified that Loftis became enraged when Rogers, who had been drinking heavily and taking Xanax, began driving the boat erratically and could not find their campsite. Jenkins said Loftis alone beat the man.

Moore questioned Jenkins' testimony and, during closing arguments, asked the jury to consider whether he, too, was involved in the beating. Jennifer Bales, a friend of Loftis' who picked him up after the incident, testified he admitted to killing Rogers.

Loftis will face 11 months and 29 days in prison on the reckless endangerment charge, but because he's already been jailed for 33 months could be released to a rehabilitation program after a Monday hearing, his attorney said.

However, Loftis and Jenkins still face burglary charges from the same night. Prosecutors say he and Jenkins burglarized a house on the river the same night Rogers was beaten.

Loftis is scheduled to appear in court again Monday.

Contact staff writer Claire Wiseman at cwiseman@times freepress or 423-757-6347. Follow her on Twitter@clairelwiseman.

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