JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The GBI has charged 35-year-old Willie James Rogers of Jacksonville with malice murder in connection to the shooting death of 20-year-old Zacheriah Wright.
Wright’s body was discovered Monday on a dead-end road about five miles outside the city of Vidalia.
According to the GBI, Wright died from a single gunshot wound to the chest. It’s unclear if the two knew each other.
Rogers was arrested by Vidalia police on a warrant out of Indiana.
According to an Indiana court document, a warrant was issued for his arrest after he failed to appear in court on charges of cocaine possession and firearm theft.
When News4Jax spoke with Roger’s mother, she said she did the best she could as a single parent. Despite her efforts, her son has been in and out of jail on charges related to illegal narcotics and theft. Now he’s facing a murder charge.
Roger’s mother says she last saw her son four months ago and last spoke with him over the phone on Mother’s Day. She says she was under the impression that he had started a new job and turned his life around.
“To now find out he is facing life in prison or maybe higher, a death penalty, that’s not good news for the mother, she’s at her wits ends so I sympathize with her,” said crime and safety expert Ken Jefferson.
A second suspect in the case was arrested Friday in Augusta by federal marshals. He’s identified as 35-year-old Ta’lawrence Vickers of Atlanta. He’s also facing murder charges.