NEW YORK – The man behind the wheel of the car that sped through a crowd of pedestrians in Times Square, killing a woman and injuring 22 others, will finally stand trial after five years of delays, including pandemic-induced court closures.
THE ANTICIPATED TRIAL AGAINST RICHARD ROJAS
Opening statements are expected Monday in the trial of Richard Rojas, a 31-year-old U.S. Navy veteran who told police after his arrest that he had been smoking marijuana laced with the hallucinogenic drug PCP before passing through tourists. defenseless in 2017 at the landmark of Manhattan. Known as “the crossroads of the world”.
Alyssa Elsman, an 18-year-old from Portage, Michigan, on an annual family trip was killed. Her 13-year-old sister, Ava, was among the injured. Jessica Williams, of Dunellen, New Jersey, was so seriously injured that her mother had to accept her diploma at her high school graduation while she was in the hospital.
Rojas’ trial, in Manhattan state court, is expected to take several months.
THE DEADLY CRASH OF 2017 AT TIMES SQUARE
Prosecutors say Rojas drove his car from the Bronx, where he lived with his mother, through Times Square on May 18, 2017, then made a U-turn, drove his car onto a sidewalk and back up the sidewalk. three blocks before he crashed his car into the protective barriers.
Photographers took wild-eyed pictures of Rojas after he got out of the wrecked car and ran down the street waving his arms. PCP, or phencyclidine, can cause users to become delusional, violent or suicidal, according to the National Drug Intelligence Center.
DRIVER SEEKING TO “KILL THEM ALL”
According to prosecutors, Rojas said he wanted to “kill them all.”
Rojas pleaded not guilty at an arraignment in 2017 and has since been incarcerated at New York City’s notorious Rikers Island prison complex. His attorney said at the time that it was a “terrible thing that happened” in Times Square.
“But how we handle this type of case will determine how civilized we are as a society,” said defense attorney Enrico DeMarco.
ABOUT SUSPECT RICHARD ROJAS
Richard Rojas, of Dominican descent, had several previous criminal cases that paint a picture of a troubled man. Days before the Times Square incident, he pleaded guilty to one count of stalking in the Bronx for pulling a knife on a notary at his home and accusing the person of trying to steal his identity.
He also had two prior drunk driving cases.
Rojas enlisted in the Navy in 2011 and served part of 2012 aboard the USS Carney, a destroyer. Rojas spent his final months in the Navy at the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Florida.
In 2012, he was arrested and accused of punching a taxi driver who he said had disrespected him by trying to overcharge him, according to the arrest report. The arresting officer said Rojas yelled, “My life is over!” while he was detained. After his arrest, Rojas told the officer that he was going to kill every police officer and MP he could see after his release from jail, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office report.
Alan Ceballos, a lawyer who represented Rojas in that case, said the state charges were dropped after the military stepped in to take jurisdiction over the criminal case. Navy records show that in 2013 Rojas spent two months in a naval prison in Charleston, South Carolina. He was discharged in 2014 as a result of a special court-martial, a Navy official said.
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