slideshow

Kevin Boozer

Staff Writer

WINNSBORO — Michael Roseboro, a former Winnsboro police officer, pleaded guilty Thursday to assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature for the October 2012 shooting of his estranged wife.

Judge Brooks Goldsmith sentenced Roseboro to 17 years in prison, not counting time served.

Riley Maxwell, assistant solicitor for the Sixth Circuit, said the plea was accepted as an alternative to a jury trial for an attempted murder charge, which allowed for a quicker resolution to the case. A jury-directed guilty verdict on a murder charge would have carried a maximum 30-year prison sentence.

During the hearing, Goldsmith heard from the defendant, his family and Kisha Roseboro, his estranged wife.

Roseboro cited his record in law enforcement and volunteer firefighting, and the remorse he felt as reasons the court should have mercy on him. His family and siblings supported him in court and his lawyer Elnora Dean said he was truly remorseful about the incident, which resulted in Kisha Roseboro being shot.

Despite her back injury and the lasting impact the shooting has had on members of her family, Kisha Roseboro addressed the court, asking for lenience on the father of her son. She gave letters to the judge written by her children. They had a rough year of marriage, according to her, but she said she felt no hate toward Mike Roseboro and she had forgiven him.

According to law enforcement reports, Kisha Roseboro had a dispute with Michael Roseboro at 9 p.m. Oct. 26, 2012, at the Eighth Street home where she and her children lived. As Kisha Roseboro walked away from her estranged husband’s Winnsboro Public Safety vehicle, Michael Roseboro fired his service weapon through the car door, striking Keisha in the arm and torso.

The bullet is currently lodged in her spine. The solicitor mentioned that as the reason she no longer works for the Fairfield County Department of Corrections, her employer at the time of the shooting.

The couple married in 2004 and has one child together. In December 2011 they began having marital issues. In May/June 2012 domestic disputes were reported, but no law enforcement was involved. The disputes led to Kisha moving herself, her son and her daughters, out of the residence in August 2012.

In September, according to Maxwell, Michael Roseboro threatened both Keisha Roseboro and Tony Robinson, whom she was seeing at the time. Another domestic incident occurred in October 2012 with Michael Roseboro throwing a phone against the wall in anger. The next interaction they had face-to-face was the shooting, according to Kisha Roseboro.

Contact Kevin Boozer at 635-4016 ext. 14 or kboozer@civitasmedia.com and follow him on Twitter at @kevinboozer.