Raleigh lawyer charged with shooting man

HILLSBOROUGH -- A Raleigh lawyer is being held on $500,000 bail in the shooting of a man in rural Orange County.

David Henry Rogers, 73, turned himself in to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office Monday evening, five days after investigators say he shot William Anthony Ralston in the driveway of his home at 9508 Wheeler Church Road.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Troy Comar released few details about the incident.

“I don’t believe the victim knew the supsect, but I believe the suspect would probably have been familiar with the victim,” Comar said.

The N.C. State Bar Association suspended Rogers’ law license in 2003 then reprimanded him in 2005 for practicing law with a suspended license. His license is still suspended. Comar does not think last week’s incident was connected with Rogers’ legal work.

Comar characterized the shooting as an isolated incident but would not discuss any details.

“We don’t have a guy just looking to get someone at the end of a driveway,” Comar said. “This is a rural setting where not much goes on up there.”

At last report, Ralston was in critical condition with a wound to his abdomen at Duke Hospital. Rogers, of 1108 Shetland Court, is charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, inflicting serious injury.

A neighbor of Ralston told deputies he heard gunfire while in his driveway a short distance from Ralston's home. He drove to Ralston's driveway where he saw an elderly man who drove away in a Ford Taurus, according to a sheriff’s press release.

The investigation is ongoing, and others may be charged, the release said. Comar asks people with information about the case to call him at (919) 644-3050.