Raleigh police officer shooting: Looking into the suspect’s criminal history

A suspect accused of fatally shooting a man and shooting a Raleigh police officer has an extensive criminal history, court records show.

Antonio Rodrigues, 70, died in a Tuesday shootout with Raleigh police officers in the Renaissance Park neighborhood, which is south of downtown.

Rodrigues is accused of fatally shooting John Rowe, 73, Raleigh police said. On Wednesday afternoon, police did not reveal the identity of the officer hospitalized in the shooting.

Jill Rohner, who lives at the townhome on Democracy Street, escaped to a neighbor’s house while Tuesday’s shooting unfolded.

Court records show stalking convictions against suspected shooter

Court records show Rodrigues has multiple convictions for stalking Jill Rohner. She had a restraining order against Rodrigues. Instead of prison time, Rodrigues received probation.

In 2014, Rohner and Rodrigues filed for divorce in Carteret County. That same year he was convicted the first time for stalking. Rodrigues was convicted again in 2023 for stalking and disclosing private images of Rohner.

Court documents show Rodrigues was scheduled to go through abuser treatment, get a mental health assessment and “have no contact with [Rohner]” and “stay at least 300 yards” away from her.

The documents list the maximum punishment for the crimes as about 17 years. Instead, a judge gave Rodrigues three years probation, which would've run through March 2026.  

“Domestic violence situations have always been one of the more dangerous calls that an officer can respond to,” said retired Durham police officer Larry Smith.

Smith shot a man while responding to a domestic violence call in the early 1990s. The man survived. 

State Bureau of Investigation data says that in 2023, there were nearly 4,000 assaults on officers in North Carolina. That year in Raleigh, there were 194, including nine involving a gun.

“If you have a suspect that that order means nothing to them, honestly, it's just a piece of paper,” Smith said.

Smith said restraining orders often aren’t enough protection in domestic violence disputes.

“It's going to be really hard to stop someone who is bound and determined to try and injure someone else,” Smith said. “It's going to be very difficult to stop that.”

WRAL Investigates found Rodrigues’ latest addresses in Carteret County and New Jersey, both of which were many miles from the victim’s home in Raleigh.

How Raleigh police officers are coping

As of Wednesday, the officer who was hospitalized is out of surgery and remains in critical condition at WakeMed.

“It’s been tough, just the unknowns,” said Rick Armstrong with the Raleigh Police Protective Association. “It’s been very tough for a lot of the police officers. I know they’re struggling … it’s a tough situation, absolutely.”

“All I can say is just continue to pray and wait … to see if there will be a need, but I think right now the most important thing we can do is pray,” Armstrong said.

Armstrong shared that the road to recovery for officers and their families is an intensely private journey and sometimes, it’s filled with uncertainty.

“I can't just reiterate enough the importance of prayer. I think it's helpful. I think it's effective,” Armstrong said. “I thought it's also important to mention to the public that … situations like this are why we need to recognize, we need to respect law enforcement.”