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Pembine man awaits murder trial

GARY ROGGE

MARINETTE, Wis. — A Pembine, Wis., man accused of fatally shooting his wife Jan. 13 has rejected a plea offer, setting the stage for his trial to go forward later this month in Marinette County.

A final pre-trial conference took place Friday for 56-year-old Gary Rogge, charged with first-degree intentional homicide in the death of Shelley Erickson Rogge, 63. If convicted, he would face life in prison.

Marinette County Circuit Judge James Morrison stressed while he didn’t want Rogge to feel pressured, he did want him to understand Friday was the last opportunity to accept the plea offer before going to trial.

Marinette County District Attorney DeShea Morrow and defense attorney John D’Angelo spent much of the rest of the hearing setting terms for lines of questioning for a former girlfriend of Rogge’s who is expected to testify for the prosecution.

Jury selection is scheduled for July 19. The five-day trial is set to begin July 29.

According to the criminal complaint, Rogge admitted to killing his wife but claimed it was an accident as they played a shooting game at their residence at N18344 Petite Lane in Pembine.

Rogge reportedly called a Marinette County Sheriff’s Office dispatcher about 10:53 p.m. Jan. 13, saying he had fatally shot his wife with a .22 caliber pistol earlier that night after drinking all day.

In a rambling account to the dispatcher and other officials, Rogge alternately claimed the accident had happened as he tried to show his wife a western movie-style “quick draw,” that he thought the gun had blanks or wasn’t loaded and that Shelley Rogge had told him to shoot her during an argument, the complaint states.

A medical examiner’s report indicated Shelley Rogge had been shot in the chest at very close range, based on gunpowder residue around the wound. She was found slumped on the couch, wearing a bra and jeans, with a wound to the chest that had smear marks as if wiped. On the floor was a gray Las Vegas sweatshirt that had a “center mass consistent with the location of the wound on Shelley Rogge.”

Investigators also found a .22 caliber Ruger revolver with a spent casing. They did not find any blanks. The trajectory of the bullet did not fit with an accident or a shooting game, authorities stated.

Rogge remains in the Marinette County Jail on a $1 million cash bond.

Brian Christensen can be reached at 906-774-2772, ext. 29, or bchristensen@ironmountaindailynews.com.

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