"His records are replete with expressions of remorse with what he did.He realizes now what he did but at the time that this happened he was in such a psychotic state he was a different person." “This a case about a 26-year-old who lost his mind,” DeMarco said.
#Car times square video trial
Meanwhile, defense attorney Enrico DeMarco said during the trial that Rojas had a history of mental illness that made him unable to understand the consequences of his actions that day. “But he didn’t stop.”Īfter Rojas finally crashed his car, his first words to a traffic agent were, “I wanted to kill them all,” the prosecutor added.
It was “impossible for him not to know exactly what was happening,” Peterson said.
#Car times square video driver
Trial Begins for Driver Accused of Deadly 2017 Rampage in Times Squareĭuring the trial, prosecutor Alfred Peterson told a Manhattan jury that Richard Rojas was well aware of the carnage he was causing by plowing through helpless tourists in 2017 visiting the popular destination known as “the crossroads of the world.” I thank the prosecutors, detectives, analysts and staff members for their hard work and dedication on this long case.” "Our condolences continue to be with the family, friends and loved ones of Alyssa Elsman, who suffered a terrible and tragic loss, and all of the victims of this horrific incident. “We are grateful to the jury for its service," Bragg said.
Rojas was fighting murder, assault and other charges at a trial unfolding in the shadow of mass shootings across the country and the political debate in which gun-control opponents have sought to blame the violence on failures in mental health care.įollowing the verdict, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg issued a statement. The jury was instructed that if it found prosecutors had proven their case, it also had to decide whether or not he “lacked responsibility by reason of mental disease or defect.” Rojas, 31, was accused in an attack that injured more than 20 people and killed Alyssa Elsman, 18, of Michigan, who was visiting the tourist destination with her family. Get Tri-state area news and weather forecasts to your inbox.
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