“I NEVER MEANT TO HURT ANYONE!”!!! BELIEVE IT OR NOT, PROSECUTORS SAY SAMUEL MATTHEW ROCHA TARGETED SEVEN TEENAGERS RIDING BICYCLES WITH HIS SEDAN AND KILLED A 16-YEAR-OLD BOY IN PORT HUENEME… AND HE NOW FACES UP TO 27 YEARS TO LIFE IN PRISON AFTER PLEADING GUILTY TO SECOND-DEGREE MURDER.
A California man has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in connection with a fatal attack on a group of young bicyclists, authorities announced.
Samuel Matthew Rocha entered the guilty plea on Monday, August 24.
The 33-year-old had allegedly killed a 16-year-old boy during what prosecutors described as a targeted assault on seven teenagers riding bikes.
The plea followed an earlier conviction in the same case, according to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office.
In April, Rocha was convicted of four counts of assault with a deadly weapon and two counts of battery.
The district attorney’s office detailed the guilty plea in a news release issued on Wednesday, August 26.
The fatal incident dates back to April 19, 2021.
On that date, prosecutors said Rocha targeted seven teenagers riding bicycles in Port Hueneme.
Port Hueneme is located approximately 65 miles west of Los Angeles.
Pedro Valdez, 16, was among the group of teenagers riding their bikes that day.
Authorities said Rocha plowed his Lexus sedan directly into the group.
The vehicle struck Valdez and four other teenagers.
Valdez was killed in the collision.
Two of the four other teenagers struck by the vehicle suffered serious injuries, prosecutors said.
Rocha drove away immediately after ramming his sedan into the group.
A witness who observed the collision followed Rocha as he left the scene, according to authorities.
The witness trailed the vehicle to a nearby apartment complex.
Authorities said Rocha’s mother lived at that apartment complex.
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Then Rocha was taken into custody, prosecutors said.
Investigators subsequently learned that the fatal crash was not the only incident involving Rocha that day.
About 11 minutes before striking the bicyclists, Rocha crashed his car into an employee at a local laundromat, according to prosecutors.
That initial vehicle strike was captured on surveillance footage.
Additionally, prosecutors said Rocha physically assaulted a man and a woman while at the laundromat.
The case went before a jury earlier this year.
During Rocha’s jury trial, defense attorney Cate Hall argued that Rocha had not seen the teenagers on their bikes before striking them with his car, the Ventura County Star reported.
Hall contended that Rocha was “deeply psychotic and intoxicated.”
“He did not purposefully harm them,” Hall said, according to the newspaper.
But prosecutors rejected that claim in court.
In March, Ventura County Senior Deputy District Attorney Craig Gardner argued before the court that Rocha “knew what he was doing,” the Ventura County Star reported.
Gardner argued that Rocha “did it anyway.”
Senior Deputy District Attorney Richard Simon also prosecuted the case.
On August 26, Simon released a statement following the guilty plea.
“Rocha made the deliberate decision to use his vehicle as a weapon, killing 16-year-old Pedro Valdez and injuring four other young bicyclists,” Simon said.
“This conviction holds him accountable and brings a measure of justice to Pedro, his family, and the other victims,” Simon added.
Rocha faces a sentence of up to 27 years to life in prison, according to the district attorney’s office.
He remains held without bail ahead of his sentencing.
Sentencing is scheduled for October 27, the district attorney’s office said.
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