By PJ Green
The Kansas City Star
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NORTH KANSAS CITY, Mo. — An outside jury has sentenced Joshua Rocha to death by execution in the capital murder trial for the killing of North Kansas City officer Daniel Vasquez in July 2022.
Rocha is the first person Clay County prosecutors sought the death penalty for since 1994.
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Rocha was found guilty of first-degree murder on Thursday, advancing the trial to the sentencing stage. Rocha, 28, faced life in prison without parole or probation, or the death penalty.
The jury from St. Charles County, Missouri, deliberated for approximately 24 hours before unanimously voting for the latter on Wednesday morning.
Dash cam footage played in the courtroom showed Rocha shooting Vasquez three times with an AR-15, including two misfires, during a traffic stop for expired tags on July 19, 2022. Vasquez’s body was left in the road at Clay Street and East 21st Avenue after Rocha quickly drove away, according to the footage.
Rocha’s defense featured 13 witnesses who testified on his behalf, reserving most of them for the sentencing stage of the trial. Two mental health experts, family members, and other people in Rocha’s life explained how his traumatic background impacted his life.
Rocha never took the witness stand in the trial.
Clay County prosecutors presented more than 30 witnesses, which included investigators, Vasquez’s family and friends, and Rocha’s detention officers.
Their testimonies supplied evidence, such as dash cam footage of the shooting, videos of Rocha shooting and 3-D printing guns, police interviews with Rocha and his mother, and incidents where Rocha was found with contraband in prison.
Some detectives spoke about how investigating a police shooting affected them personally. Vasquez’s loved ones and co-workers described their experiences with Vasquez and how they’ve attempted to cope since his death.
In closing arguments, assistant prosecuting attorneys Spencer Curtis and Rob Sanders slammed testimony from mental health experts who explained Rocha’s mental deficiencies. The mental health experts described how Rocha’s impairments, mild autism, post-traumatic stress and low intellectual ability affect his judgment and decision-making.
Curtis and Sanders urged the jury to focus on the decisions that Rocha made by replaying evidence shown throughout the trial.
Videos were played showing Rocha 3D printing and shooting guns. They showed Rocha spoke with a different persona in videos where he was shooting guns and bragging about the firearms, opposed to his “quiet, meek” police interview, where he spoke in hushed tones with tearful, remorseful sentiments for his actions.
Rocha told investigators he didn’t know why he shot Vasquez, according to video of the interview shown in court. In his mother’s interview with police, she said her son told her he shot a police officer because he feared being going to jail for having a rifle.
“There was no fight. There was no discussion. It was an execution. It was an ambush,” Curtis said.
Rocha’s public defender, Stephen Reynolds, asked the jury to extend mercy to Rocha because of his traumatic background and mental impairments.
Prosecutors initially charged Rocha with first-degree murder and armed criminal action following Vasquez’s death. In March 2023, prosecutors filed a notice that they would seek the death penalty.
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