A 67-year-old Louisiana man was sentenced to 32 years in prison on Thursday for conspiracy to commit murder in connection with a Lone Tree man’s 1985 shooting death during a home invasion.
Michael Shannel Jefferson was arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder and kidnapping in 2021, 36 years after the death of Lone Tree businessman Roger Dean, 51, on Nov. 21, 1985.
Dean and his wife, D.J., were at home when an intruder broke in and forced Roger Dean to tie up his wife, according to previous reporting. D.J. Dean told police she heard scuffling and gunshots downstairs and found her husband’s body.
Jefferson was identified as a suspect after a crime analyst linked him to the case by comparing DNA found at the scene to the DNA of Jefferson’s deceased parents.
He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit murder in August. Two counts of murder and one count of kidnapping were dismissed as part of a plea agreement, according to court records.
In a statement, Dean’s daughter, Tamara Harney, thanked the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office for never giving up on her family.
“Jefferson has never taken any accountability for his actions. I’m pleased with the sentence and feel a sense of closure, but nothing can change the fact I’ve lived without a father for 39 years,” Harney said.
Jefferson maintains that he is not guilty and “took his fate into his own hands” by accepting the plea deal, his attorney Michael Faye said in a statement.
“He was not about to risk the rest of his life in prison at the hands of a system that he no longer had any faith in,” Faye said. “Nobody knows the injustices of our criminal justice system more than Mr. Jefferson and I cannot blame him for choosing this path, as difficult as it was.”
This is a developing story and may be updated.
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