Former officer Patric Ferguson is being held in a city jail without bail.
A Memphis police officer was fired after he allegedly killed and kidnapped a man while on duty.
Robert Howard, 30, was reported missing for the first time after his girlfriend called the police on Wednesday at around 8:30 pm, the Memphis Police Department said.
He was last seen in a house on Mark Twain Street at about 5 pm Tuesday, his girlfriend told police. She used an app to track his cell phone, which she found near Lamar Avenue and Shelby Drive – but she didn’t find it, she said.
A body, believed to be Howard’s, was recovered in the Second Street area and on the Wolf River bridge, Memphis police announced on Sunday.
After an investigation, the police learned that Howard was allegedly removed from the house and shot by police officer Patric Ferguson, 29, while Ferguson was on duty.
Ferguson reportedly forced Howard into the back of his vehicle and shot him with his personal weapon, police said.
Ferguson and Howard knew each other, according to the police. The reason is not clear.
After the investigation, Ferguson was arrested and “immediately released from office,” according to the police department. He has worked for the department since 2018 and was assigned to the Tillman station.
Ferguson was charged with first-degree murder, first-degree murder in perpetrating aggravated kidnapping, especially aggravated kidnapping, corpse abuse and the fabrication and tampering of evidence.
A second suspect, Joshua Rogers, 28, was also arrested and charged with accomplice after the fact, abuse of corpse and fabrication and tampering with evidence. Rogers is friends with Ferguson and reportedly helped him relocate Howard’s body after he was killed. Police did not disclose where his body was found.
Ferguson was not bailed and remains in Shelby County Prison, records show. Rogers was released on $ 25,000 bail.
Both Ferguson and Rogers are due to appear in court on Monday. It is not clear whether they hired a lawyer.
“No one is above the law,” said Memphis police director Michael Rallings in a statement.
“Knowing that a Memphis police officer, someone who has sworn to protect and serve, made the decision to commit this horrible crime is devastating,” said Rallings. “His actions were not those of a police officer and should not reflect on fellow police officers.”
ABC News’ Ben Stein contributed to this report.