Samuel Rocha Sentenced 27 Years To Life For Crashing Into Five Bicyclists Killing Local Teen

VENTURA COUNTY, Calif (KEYT) – Samuel Matthew Rocha of Port Hueneme was sentenced to 27 years to life in state prison for the April 2021 second-degree murder of 16-year-old Pedro Valdez and related assault of four other bicyclists as well as battery charges from an incident earlier the same day.

Rocha received a 15 years to life sentence for the murder conviction, plus an additional 12 years for his conviction of assault with a deadly weapon stated the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.

The 33-year-old pled guilty to a charge of murder in the second degree in August of this year and a local jury convicted him of the remaining four counts of assault and two counts of battery detailed local prosecutors.

On the evening of April 19, 2021, Rocha targeted a group of seven bicyclists riding near the intersection of Pleasant Valley Road and Ventura Road in Port Hueneme while driving his Lexus sedan explained the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.

Rocha struck five of the bicyclists, killing 16-year-old Pedro Valdez and injuring four other minors, before fleeing the scene noted the local prosecutor's office.

"A tragic loss of life occurred because of Mr. Rocha's actions," Senior Deputy District Attorney Richard Simon, one of the two prosecutors assigned to the case, shared. "While his acceptance of responsibility is an important step, it cannot undo the devastating consequences of his actions. Pedro Valdez is missed by everyone who had the privilege of knowing him."

A witness followed Rocha's vehicle to his mother's apartment complex near the scene of the incident where a responding officer with Port Hueneme Police Department placed him under arrest shared the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.

Rocha was also involved in an earlier incident at a laundromat where he battered a man and a woman before intentionally hitting an employee with his vehicle as he left the parking lot added prosecutors.

That laundromat incident was recorded on surveillance video and occurred around 11 minutes before he struck the group of bicyclists noted the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.