The Alleged Kidnapper Was an On-Duty Cop

The crime itself is jarring enough: Police say one man kidnapped another at gunpoint, forced him into a car, then shot him to death inside the vehicle. The chilling twist: The suspect was on duty at the time as a police officer in Memphis, Tenn., and authorities say the vehicle was his own patrol car, reports the Commercial Appeal. Patric Ferguson, 29, faces first-degree murder and kidnapping charges, and he's been fired from the force, per CNN. Authorities say they found searches on Ferguson's phone about how to clean up a crime scene and destroy DNA evidence. More damning is this line from an affidavit: "Surveillance video was obtained by investigators which captured the shooting of the victim while Ferguson was on-duty."

The victim is 30-year-old Robert Howard, whose girlfriend reported him missing Wednesday night, reports FOX13 Memphis. After the ensuing investigation, police say that Ferguson confronted Howard outside a home, forced him into the back of the squad car, drove less than a half-mile away, and fatally shot him. Authorities say the two knew each other but didn't speculate about a motive. Another man, 28-year Joshua Rogers, has been charged with helping Ferguson dispose of the body, which police say was later discovered near a bridge. "Knowing that a Memphis Police Officer, someone who took an oath to protect and serve, made the decision to commit this horrific crime is devastating," says MPD Director Michael Rallings in a statement. (More Memphis stories.)