COEUR d’ALENE — Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Jason Rook, who is accused of fatally shooting his ex’s boyfriend in February.

Rook, 47, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of 46-year-old Nathan Rogers. He also faces charges of burglary, first-degree stalking and destruction of evidence, all felonies. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges. 

Idaho law requires prosecutors to file a notice of intent to seek the death penalty and include a list of the aggravating circumstances the state intends to rely on. The jury, or the court if a jury is waived, must find that at least one exists beyond a reasonable doubt before a death sentence can be imposed. 

In a notice filed May 30, Kootenai County prosecutors listed multiple aggravated circumstances, alleging that “the murder was especially heinous, atrocious or cruel, manifesting exceptional cruelty” and that Rook has “exhibited a propensity to commit murder which will probably constitute a continuing threat to society.” 

Late last week, defense counsel for Rook filed multiple motions to strike the aggravating factors from the state’s notice of intent to seek the death penalty. 

The defense also seeks to strike the state’s notice entirely, arguing that “Idaho’s capital sentencing scheme does not comport with contemporary standards of decency and therefore constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.” 

The charges stem from Feb. 26, when a woman reported to police that she saw someone enter her Post Falls home and believed her boyfriend, Nathan Rogers, had been shot. Police found Rogers dead inside the home from apparent gunshot wounds. 

Security cameras inside the home appeared to show a man later identified by police as Rook enter the home through an unlocked door and remain there for several hours before shooting Rogers, according to court records. 

Rogers’ girlfriend told police she previously dated Rook and broke up with him about a year before the shooting. Since then, she said Rook had engaged in harassing behavior on social media. 

Police began searching for Rook the day of the shooting and arrested him three days later in Coeur d’Alene. The Post Falls Police Department announced that Rook surrendered peacefully and was taken into custody. 

First District Judge Keisha Oxendine ordered in February that Rook be held without bail. He remains in custody at the Kootenai County jail.

A four-week trial in the case is scheduled to begin in late September.