Two Dollars and a Killing: Clark Murder Trial Opens in Towson

Two dollars.

That’s what James “J-Roc” Clark’s defense team says he and Romy Bogier argued about before Bogier was shot and killed last year.

Clark, 45, is on trial charged with murder, attempted murder, and a firearms offense in the Sept. 2, 2024 shooting in the parking lot of White Oak School in on Leefield Road in Parkville.

No one disputes that Clark shot Bogier — surveillance footage captured the entire incident near the school’s dumpsters.

“There is one fact that will not be disputed in this trial,” Assistant State’s Attorney Joe Dominick told jurors Tuesday. “And it’s the one thing the state and the defense agree on: on September 2, 2024, the defendant put a gun to the forehead of Romy Bogier, pulled the trigger, and ended Romy Bogier’s life.”

Clark’s defense team claims he shot his friend to defend himself.

“The ‘why’ matters,” defense attorney Ryann Castleman countered. “Not every death is a murder. And self-defense is not illegal in the state of Maryland.”

Castleman said Bogier and Clark were friends who argued that day over a small debt — two dollars.

She said audio of the argument captured Bogier saying, “I’m not trying to hurt you, but if you don’t give me my f—ing money, J-Roc, you’re not getting out of this car.”

After the argument at the Captain Carwash, Bogier and his adult son, Remy, drove with Clark to the school parking lot.

Both sides agree Bogier struck Clark with a pistol.

After that, their interpretations diverge.

According to prosecutors, Clark became the aggressor, tackling Bogier and slamming him to the ground. Dominick said Clark then stood over him, held him by the neck, pressed a gun to his forehead, and pulled the trigger.

Clark then fired three shots at a fleeing Remy Bogier.

Media reports at the time incorrectly stated Remy was shot, but jurors heard Tuesday that he fell while running, hit his head, and fractured his skull.

Castleman characterized the confrontation as a struggle for the gun.

“Mr. Clark ultimately gains control and defends his life,” she said.

She also told jurors Clark is a vulnerable man who suffers from schizophrenia and has a disability caused by being shot in the leg as a teenager.

On the witness stand, Remy testified that because of his head injury, he remembers little about the day his father died.

Police testified that Clark dropped his wallet at the scene. Officers later arrested him in the parking lot of a motel on Joppa Road and found a gun in his pocket. Dominick said Clark confessed during his police interview.