TAMPA, Fla. – The previous Polk County deputy who no-showed his trial for DUI manslaughter earlier this yr is predicted in a Tampa courtroom for the second straight day after authorities captured him in Colombia.
Case towards Joshua Roelofs
The backstory:
Within the early morning hours of April 13, 2022, Tampa police mentioned Joshua Roelofs was driving at about 100 mph on the Courtney Campbell Causeway when he rear-ended a Kia Sorrento with 4 folks inside.
Prosecutors say Joshua Roelofs was beneath the affect when he prompted a crash in 2022, killing two folks and injuring two others.
The SUV overturned, investigators mentioned, killing two 44-year-old males: Kristopher Koroly and Ricky Gongora. A 36-year-old man and a 33-year-old lady additionally suffered important accidents.
On Wednesday, investigators launched dashcam video from inside Roelofs’ automotive displaying the crash.
Courtesy: Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Workplace.
Investigators arrested Roelofs the next month on a number of fees, together with two counts every of vehicular murder and DUI manslaughter.
Jury choice in his trial was set to start in April 2025, however Roelofs was a no-show.
On Wednesday, the Tampa Police Division mentioned the U.S. Marshals Process Drive supplied info on Roelofs’ whereabouts to Colombian authorities on Aug. 11.
Detectives arrested him at a lodge in Antioquia, Colombia, in accordance with TPD.
Dig deeper:
“It was heart-wrenching, it was unimaginable. It was a nightmare,” Jorge Negrete, Gongora’s father, informed FOX 13, including he was, “crying through the day, praying at night time that justice could be served, that he could be discovered.”
Negrete was almost perplexed when he discovered Roelofs was staying in a luxurious resort.
“That is one thing that’s simply so extremely brazen and simply he isn’t accepting duty,” Negrete mentioned, including that the time Roelofs may spend in jail is nothing in comparison with the time Negrete won’t ever get together with his son. “I will by no means hear his voice once more. He’ll by no means name me on Father’s Day, Christmas ever once more. And I hope Josh thinks about that day-after-day when he is watching these 4 partitions in his jail cell.”
What’s subsequent:
Thursday’s court docket listening to is scheduled to start at 8:30 a.m. Hillsborough State Legal professional Suzy Lopez says she plans to argue that Roelofs is a flight threat and must be held with out bond till his trial.
The Supply: This story was written with info from Hillsborough County court docket data and former FOX 13 Information studies.
