Convicted murderer of North Kansas City officer files motion to vacate sentence
The state public defender for convicted murderer Joshua Rocha, who was sentenced to death this month by a sequestered jury, has filed a motion requesting a new trial or a life sentence.
Rocha, 28, was found guilty of first-degree murder and received a death sentence on Oct. 8 after an almost two-week capital murder trial for the July 2022 killing of North Kansas City police officer Daniel Vasquez.
Dash cam footage played in the courtroom showed that Rocha shot Vasquez three times with an AR-15, including two misfires, during a traffic stop for expired tags on July 19, 2022.
Rocha, the first person Clay County have prosecutors sought a death penalty for in more than 30 years, faced life in prison without parole or probation, or the death penalty. A jury from St. Charles County, Missouri, took a little more than 24 hours to hand him a death sentence.
“...the defendant’s selection of the person he killed was random and without regard to the victim’s identity and that defendant’s killing of Daniel Vasquez thereby exhibited a callous disregard for the sanctity of all human life,” the jury’s final verdict read, according to court documents.
The motion, filed by public defender Stephen Reynolds on Rocha’s behalf on Oct. 17, lists multiple jury instructions and rejected motions, including motions that attempted to deny pieces of evidence from prosecutors, as reasons to vacate the jury’s sentence or allow a new trial to take place.
Vasquez became an NKC officer in July 2021 after graduating from the Regional Police Academy, according to his obituary. He worked several law enforcement and security jobs, including as a detention officer for the Kansas City police, before joining the department.
Rocha is currently scheduled for a hearing to finalize his sentence on Nov. 24.
