A jury convicted Joshua Rocha of first-degree murder. The jury was chosen from the St. Louis area and will determine if Rocha lives the rest of his life in prison or heads to death row.

St. Louis

A Clay County jury has convicted Joshua Rocha of first degree murder for the killing of North Kansas City police officer Daniel Vasquez during a traffic stop in 2022. Rocha confessed to shooting Officer Vasquez after being pulled over for driving on a suspended license with expired tags. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty, and the jury is now deliberating on whether to recommend death or life in prison without parole. The case highlights the complexities of capital punishment decisions, with defense attorneys noting the challenges juries face in such cases and the factors they may consider, such as the defendant's background and the circumstances of the crime.

The trial has moved quickly, with both sides presenting arguments for sentencing. The jury, drawn from the St. Louis area, will decide whether Rocha receives the death penalty or life imprisonment, as Missouri law does not mandate the death penalty in capital murder cases.

Man who killed NKC officer could face death penalty

tomorrow. Clay County jury will continue with sentencing deliberations after finding joshua Rocha guilty in the murder of a north Kansas City police officer, Daniel Vasquez. The jury deliberated for two hours on thursday before finding Rocha guilty of first degree murder. He is now convicted of killing officer Vasquez during a traffic stop in 2022. Prosecutors are pushing for the death penalty. Case HB 41 news reporter Alyssa Jackson has more on what we learned in court and brings us the voice of a defense attorney on the challenges of seeking the death penalty. Sarah, capital murder cases involving law enforcement in line of duty deaths have caught attention on both sides of the state line this year. Clay County is quickly nearing the end of a short trial, meaning a jury will now sleep on a huge recommendation that puts a decision for a man's life in their hands. A jury handed the presiding judge a first degree murder conviction of Joshua Rocha on day three of the trial. Rocha confessed to killing officer Daniel Vasquez. One of the most jarring details mentioned in court was that Rocha grabbed his rifle the moment he noticed officer Vasquez and shot the officer as soon as he started approaching Rocha's vehicle. It all happened in 48 seconds over a traffic stop for Rocha driving on a suspended license with expired tags. With Rocha's conviction, sentencing is the next step in the process. I spoke with an experienced criminal defense attorney a couple of months ago about capital murder cases since there are a few of them happening in the metro. These cases are hard to be real honest cases where somebody is looking at a life sentence where death penalties not sought is hard for folks. There are two other capital murder cases right now in Wyandotte County involving the killings of Deputy Elijah Ming and KCK officer Hunter Simonsic. Missouri's last execution was Marcellus Williams in 2024. Criminal defense attorney Craig Divine said when there's a jury sentencing rather than a judge like in Rocha's case, it's harder to secure the death penalty. It's difficult to get this kind of a verdict because you have to have people who are willing to do it. Um, but I think it also speaks to the divisiveness that the concept of capital punishment, um, brings up in society. There are a lot of people who think, um, that taking someone's life because they took someone's someone else's life looks more like vengeance than justice. Um, there are a lot of people who would say that spending the rest of your life in prison is a worse punishment. And that's what a jury will be deciding. The state is seeking the death penalty, but it's not mandated in capital murder cases. If the jury does not recommend death, Sarah, the defendant would get life without parole. So, Alyssa, can you explain what could contribute to a jury's decision in a case like this? Yeah, Craig Divine kind of gave me some insight to that today. He said the defense will likely take an approach that will make the jury or try to make the jury take pity on Rocha mentioning any past trauma, child neglect, broken home, possibly that Rocha grew up in. And the jury may also consider the defendant's background in the killing being in the heat of the moment versus Rocha taking time to think about it. And we might know a decision by tomorrow. It's possible the jury is from the ST Louis area, specifically ST Charles. And that's part of why this trial is happening so fast. And sentencing can't happen at a later date, like we see in some criminal trials. Now, both sides are still making arguments for sentencing. A jury will still need to deliberate after that to recommend life in prison or the death penalty, Sarah.

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Chernihiv

Ukraine Invasion

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Quantico

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Breakdown