17-year-old fatally shot in Mansfield was killed in robbery during gun swap: warrants

A 17-year-old who was fatally shot in Mansfield last month was killed during a firearms swap, court documents show.

Police responded to the 800 block of Cutting Horse Drive around 4:40 p.m. on Sept. 19 after a 911 caller reported seeing a body lying in the street. The caller, who said they were seeing the body through a home surveillance camera, said it “looks like a kid,” according to the suspects’ arrest warrant affidavits obtained Tuesday by the Star-Telegram.

The 17-year-old victim, who has been identified as Julious David Rogers, was pronounced dead from gunshot wounds at a local hospital, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office website. His death has been ruled a homicide.

The detective investigating the case learned from Julious’ aunt that the 17-year-old had been building a firearm. The day he was killed he’d asked his uncle via text to go with him to meet someone. He’d also asked his uncle for a gun, “presumably due to safety concerns,” the warrants state.

Julious’ uncle wasn’t able to go with him or provide a gun, according to the warrants.

Investigators said they found messages on Julious’ phone that appeared to be price negotiations for buying, selling and swapping firearms and firearm accessories. One message, sent from Julious’ phone, shows a hand holding ammunition for an M4 carbine assault rifle.

The most recent communication occurred less than 30 minutes before the teen was shot. Four minutes after the last text, investigators saw that Julious had sent $110 via Cash App, the warrants state.

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Home surveillance video captured Julious speaking with the occupants of a silver Acura MDX. The vehicle was traced to an apartment complex in Dallas on Sept. 20, and officers detained 21-year-old Elijah Hatton when he entered the vehicle.

According to the warrant, Hatton initially denied being in Mansfield the previous day, until a detective showed him a still shot of his vehicle taken from the home surveillance camera. Hatton then admitted he was there, but said he didn’t have anything to do with the shooting, court documents state.

A short time later, Hatton changed his story and told police the shooting was done in self defense. He told investigators he had driven a friend to Mansfield for a gun swap, his arrest warrant states. He said he didn’t overhear the conversation between his friend and the victim, but he saw “a big gun get pointed at them.”

According to Hatton, the victim was trying to rob his friend and the two were struggling over the gun, the warrant states. Hatton told police that he grabbed his own gun and shot Julious twice in the shoulder before driving off.

Hatton said he didn’t know what happened to his own pistol or the AR-style firearm he said he saw during the struggle or the pistol that was to be exchanged, according to the warrant. No firearms were located at the scene, police said.

Hatton denied knowing anything about the $110 Julious sent over Cash App. He said he didn’t know the name of the friend he had taken to Mansfield, but provided police with the friend’s phone number. That number matched the phone number connected with the Cash App account that had received the money from Julious, the warrant states.

The owner of the Cash App account was found to be Michael Spencer. Detectives from the Mansfield Police Department and the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force arrested 19-year-old Spencer on Sept. 25.

Hatton and Spencer are being held in the Tarrant County Jail on $200,000 bonds, according to court records. They both face a murder charge.

According to the warrant, information gathered about the case shows Julious agreed to pay Spencer $110 extra to leave the switch on the Glock that was to be exchanged.

“A Cash App transaction shows Julious paying the agreed upon amount before the struggle takes place,” the detective wrote in the warrant. “This leads me to believe that Julious was not the involved party attempting to commit a robbery.”

Julious is survived by his parents and six siblings, according to an online obituary.

“Julious was a bright, intelligent and strong young man that loved music,” his family wrote in the obituary. “He was a devoted big brother that loved to spend time with his family. Julious truly lived his life to the fullest through simple pleasures; chatting with friends and family, snacking, and speaking time with his cousins. Julious had a huge sense of humor and would definitely make you laugh.”