LIBERTY, Mo. (KCTV) - A jury in Clay County reached a verdict Wednesday in the sentencing of Joshua Rocha.
Jurors determined Rocha will be sentenced to death. He will be formally sentenced November 24 at 1 p.m.
Rocha was convicted last week for killing North Kansas City Ofc. Daniel Vasquez in 2022. Closing arguments in the penalty phase of Rocha’s case were made Tuesday morning and jurors deliberated for much of the day. The court reconvened Wednesday morning for a verdict.
Court records said Rocha was pulled over for expired tags when he shot and killed Vasquez and then drove away. A manhunt followed until Rocha eventually turned himself in at the Clay County Courthouse Annex later the same day, on July 19, 2022.
Rocha told police he shot Vasquez as he approached the driver’s side doo