Kansas City man found guilty of murder in killing of NKC police officer
Joshua Rocha has been found guilty of first-degree murder in the July 2022 slaying of North Kansas City police officer Daniel Vasquez.
It took a jury from St. Charles County, Missouri, a little under two hours to deliver a verdict Thursday morning after two days of evidence presentation and testimony from prosecutors and Rocha’s public defenders in a Clay County courtroom. A jury poll requested by Rocha’s attorney was unanimous.
Vasquez’s loved ones were visibly emotional outside of the courtroom after the verdict was read.
Since Rocha has been found guilty, the next phase of the trial is for the jury to decide if Rocha will be sentenced to life in prison without parole, or death.
Prosecutors have begun presenting evidence to push for a life sentence, the first time Clay County has done so since 1998.
Prosecutors argued that Rocha knowingly and deliberately shot and killed Vasquez on July 19, 2022, during their closing arguments in the capital murder trial for Rocha.
The state’s closing argument, split by deputy chief assistant prosecutor Robert Sanders and assistant prosecutor Spencer Curtis, emphasized that Rocha thought about his actions before taking an AR-15 from his passenger seat and placing it in his hands just before he parked his car as Vasquez performed a traffic stop.
“[Rocha] could’ve driven away, could’ve done nothing... he chose to end someone’s life,” Curtis said in his argument Thursday.
Rocha shot Vasquez three times, including two misfires, during a traffic stop for expired tags and drove away from the scene quickly with Vasquez’s body lying in the middle of the street at Clay Street and East 21st Avenue, according to dash cam footage played in the courtroom.
The footage was played a second time during closing arguments.
‘This was an ambush’
Prosecutors pointed out that 48 seconds had passed after Rocha was considering shooting the officer while he was driving, according to his police interview that was played for the jury.
“He stopped me, I pulled over, he walked up to the car, and I shot him,” Rocha said to investigators in the three-year-old interview. Rocha told police he was afraid of having his 2006 light green Ford Taurus towed because he was homeless and jobless, but also said he didn’t know why he shot Vasquez when pressed by investigators for answers.
They also noted that Rocha gunned down Vasquez in 13 seconds before he drove off, which showed deliberation as they attempted to persuade the jury that he deserved a first-degree murder verdict instead of second-degree murder.
“This was an ambush,” Sanders said to the jury on Thursday. “The state’s asking you for justice for Daniel Vazquez.”
In the closing argument from Rocha’s attorney, Stephen Reynolds, he asked the outside jury to consider that Rocha took blame for the incident, but also acknowledged a state of confusion.
“Be open to the possibility he is saying both things: I did it and I wasn’t thinking,” Reynolds said.
Reynolds called Rocha's actions “senseless, inexcusable,” and “horrifying” as the defense never disputed his actions during the trial. Rocha also did not take the stand, with the defense using the lead investigator on the case, Kansas City police detective Jeremy Wells, and Rocha’s housemate, Emily Ridout, as their only two witnesses.
Prosecutors called 16 witnesses to the stand. Their evidence included dash cam footage, Rocha’s interview with police, and firearm experts who explained the more than 100 firearm components found at a home he lived in and in his vehicle.
Ridout disputed that, stating Rocha worked at fast food restaurant Five Guys and lived in her family’s home for six months.
This story was originally published October 2, 2025 at 12:55 PM.
