TYLER, Texas — Arrest documents allege an East Texas veteran was killed during a drug exchange that became a robbery when three people worked together to kill him and steal his debit card and electronic devices in February.
On Friday, Aug. 18, Herbert Simpson, 54, Stephanie Brasher, 42, and Anthony Taylor, 48, were charged with capital murder in connection with the death of Warren Rogers.
Documents show DNA evidence from blood and a Dr. Pepper bottle at the scene led investigators to arrest Simpson, Brasher and Taylor.
Police say Simpson and Brasher were already in the Smith County Jail and capital murder was added to their list of charges. Taylor was taken into custody on Monday. Bond for all of the suspects was set at $1 million.
Officers responded to Rogers’ home in the 1600 block of W. Mims St. on Feb, 6 to find Rogers dead from a gunshot wound.
According to an arrest affidavit, one of Rogers’ friends found Rogers lying on the floor with blood everywhere. When officers arrived, they noticed a white powdery substance that they believed to be a mixture of cleaning products.
The friend thought whoever killed Rogers wanted to take the $1,500 check he receives every month from Veteran Affairs, the affidavit said.
Through a search warrant, officers found blood drops outside the apartment and going into the parking lot as well as an already opened Dr. Pepper bottle at Rogers’ feet. DNA samples were taken from the bottle and the blood, the document read.
In May, the blood sample was traced back to Simpson and the Dr. Pepper bottle DNA led officers to Brasher.
Brasher, who was already arrested, told police she was friends with Rogers and she had been to his apartment several times, including to consume narcotics together. She told police that she went with Taylor (the driver) and Simpson to Rogers’ apartment and they dropped her off, the document read.
While at Rogers’ home, she gave Rogers a bag of methamphetamine that came from Simpson and Rogers sent a CashApp payment of $30 to Simpson. The purchase had already been coordinated, according to the affidavit.
She had some narcotics and talked with Rogers for about 30 minutes before Simpson knocked on the door. When Rogers opened the door, a physical altercation started that ended with Simpson shooting Rogers in the head, the affidavit said.
Brasher also said she saw Simpson go into Rogers’ bedroom and take his yellow CashApp debit card, cell phone and a tablet. Brasher said that Simpson had shot himself in the hand accidentally when he shot and killed Rogers, according to the document.
After leaving Rogers’ apartment, Brasher said Simpson gave Brasher the CashApp card and two electronic devices. They decided to go to a hotel room because Simpson was getting “spooked” after the murder, the affidavit said.
Brasher said she got hungry and used Rogers’ card to pay for a DoorDash delivery of Spring Creek BBQ. She later used the card to buy something from Spring Creek again and Williams Chicken. She knew she was using Rogers’ card that was illegally taken from Rogers’ home, the affidavit explained.
In a police interview, Simpson’s cousin said he was initially a part of the planned robbery along with Brasher and Simpson, but he backed out when he learned Taylor, who was acting strange, was involved.
The cousin said Simpson admitted to shooting and killing Rogers as well as accidentally shooting his hand. He also heard Brasher talk about the murder and she was worried that left something behind, which was later determined to the Dr. Pepper bottle at the scene, the document stated.
Simpson asked his cousin to move Simpson’s gun and place it into a safe at another location. On Aug. 17, police served a search warrant of that location where the gun was moved to. A woman who had a child with Simpson pointed them to where Simpson's guns and safe were, the affidavit read.
In an interview, she said she saw a CashApp card with Rogers’ name on the front while at his apartment the day after the murder. When she confronted Simpson, he admitted to shooting himself in the hand, but he wouldn’t give details or say if he was involved in Rogers’ death, according to the affidavit.
When Simpson was arrested in April, he called the woman from the Smith County Jail asking her to move the gun safe from his apartment to her house, the document said.
The case will be forwarded to the Smith County District Attorney’s Office.