The man who killed 18-year-old Alyssa Elsman and injured 22 other pedestrians after plowing through a crowd in Times Square in 2017 has been found not responsible for his crime by reason of insanity.
Richard Rojas, 31, who suffers with schizophrenia, 31, learned of his fate on June 22. He committed his atrocity on May 18, 2017.
Rojas, a US Navy veteran and native of The Bronx, had pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder, 18 counts of attempted murder and 38 counts assaults.
The jury deliberated for six hours in the case before accepting Rojas’ lawyer, Enrico Demarco’s, argument that he was so mentally disturbed he didn’t understand what he was doing.
Demarco said that the verdict was ‘right and humane’ but described the incident as a ‘horrible act.’
Judge Daniel Conviser said that Rojas will undergo further psychiatric examinations before he is sentenced to an institution. He could have faced life in prison.
The judge said that Rojas qualifies for an extended ‘involuntary mental commitment.’
The several weeks long trial revolved around Rojas’ mental state at the time of the horrific incident.
Avoiding jail time due to mental health issues is extremely rare in the United States. Often, suspects are found to be mentally ill but still forced to undergo a regular criminal trial.
In most cases, a person found not responsible due to mental defect, will be ordered to a facility for the same amount of time as their likely prison sentence.
The several week long trial revolved around Rojas’ mental state at the time of the horrific incident
18-year-old Alyssa Elsman was on vacation in New York City at the time of her death
Alyssa Elsman, 18 (front left) pictured with her family in Times Square. Elsman was killed when Rojas ran her over
In the aftermath of the verdict, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement: ‘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.’
Prosecutor Alfred Peterson said during the trial that it was ‘impossible’ for Rojas not to know what he was doing when he plowed his car into the crowd.
Peterson said, despite this, ‘He didn’t stop.’
said that the suspect was aware that he was in a populated area when he drove into the crowd.
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During the trial, Rojas’ brother, Wilmer Varas testified that the killer began developing mental health issues at the age of 11, fifteen years before the attack in Times Square at the age of 26.
Varas said that Rojas would speak in tongues and complained of hearing voices in his head.
Following the attack, Rojas told a traffic cop: ‘I wanted to kill them all.’
Another startling testimony in the trial came from Alyssa Elsman’s younger sister who told the jury about her horror watching her sister die.
One of Rojas’ victims, Jessica Williams, was cutting school at the time of his rampage. Williams was left ‘basically cut in half’ by his car.
Richard Rojas, 31, learned of his fate on June 22
A breakdown of the Rojas’ attack and his victims from the New York City district attorney’s office. Rojas killed an 18-year-old girl and injured 22 others during the attack
A smashed car sits on the corner of Broadway and 45th Street in New York’s Times Square after an SUV barreled into the crowded area in 2017
Shocking photos show the moment the SUV plowed into pedestrians on the sidewalk in Times Square in 2017, killing an 18-year-old and injuring 22 others
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.
He then steered his car onto a sidewalk, and roared back up the sidewalk for three blocks before he crashed his car into protective barriers.
Photographers snapped pictures of a wild-eyed Rojas after he climbed from the wrecked car and ran through the street waving his arms.
At the time, the U.S. Navy veteran told police after his arrest that he had been smoking marijuana laced with the hallucinogenic drug PCP before the incident, authorities said.
In 2012, he was arrested and accused of beating a cab driver whom he said had disrespected him by trying to charge too much, according to the arrest report. The arresting officer said Rojas screamed, ‘My life is over!’ as he was being detained. After his arrest, Rojas told the officer he was going to kill all police and military police he might see after his release from jail, the Jacksonville sheriff’s office report stated.
Alan Ceballos, an attorney 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 at a naval prison in Charleston, South Carolina. He was discharged in 2014 as the result of a special court martial, a Navy official said.
Rojas enlisted in the Navy in 2011 and served for 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.
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