Sentencing Oct. 7 for Cape man found guilty of murder
A Cape Coral man is facing time in prison following his conviction last week for murder.
Kenneth Bailey Roop, 53, of 1815 S.W. 30th Terrace, was found guilty Thursday in a jury trial of second-degree murder with a firearm in the death of Nicholas Robert Rainey, 30. Jurors deliberated for approximately two hours becoming coming to the verdict, according to the State Attorney’s Office.
“He was found guilty as charged,” assistant state attorney Amira Fox said Tuesday.
Fox handled the case with assistant state attorney Andreas Gardiner.
Roop was represented by attorney John Musca.
Musca did not return a message Tuesday seeking comment on the verdict.
“We were very gratified with the verdict,” Fox said. “We thanked the jury for working so hard.”
The state also hoped that the conviction helped Rainey’s family find closure.
Roop is scheduled for sentencing Oct. 7.
He is facing a mandatory life sentence, according to officials.
On July 25, 2012, Cape Coral police responded to numerous calls about a man, later identified as Rainey, who had been shot outside of a home at 1815 S.W. 30th Terrace. Rainey, of 4541 Palm Beach Blvd., Fort Myers, was found dead in the driveway with multiple gunshot wounds, officials said.
Rainey, a door-to-door salesman for Blue Ribbon, had been going from home to home selling meat. When Roop returned home and pulled into his driveway, Rainey approached; Roop then shot him.
According to records, Roop was charged in 2005 with one misdemeanor count of improper exhibition of weapon in Sumter County, Fla. He was acquitted of the charge after a jury found him not guilty.