A jury has reached a verdict Monday in the case of a man accused of murdering an Everett police officer last year.
Deliberations began on Friday.
In March 2022, Officer Dan Rocha was gunned down in the parking lot of a Starbucks after he confronted Richard Rotter as he moved weapons between two cars.
During their closing arguments in Rotter’s trial for aggravated first-degree murder, prosecutors played body camera footage of Rocha talking with Rotter, a convicted felon who should not have had any weapons.
When Rocha tried to arrest him, there was a struggle.
Prosecutors say Rotter shot Rocha five times and then drove over his body.
Rotter’s defense attorneys do not dispute that he killed Rocha but maintain the murder was not premeditated, and was influenced by his mental health disorders.
“This is not a brain that premeditates during a time of stress, it’s going to be reactionary and it’s going to be impulsive,” said defense attorney Natalie Tarantino.
Prosecutors say the murder was premeditated because Rotter was determined not to be arrested and go to jail.
“The defendant made a business decision. It was worth it to him to kill a cop who just wouldn’t let it go,” said prosecutor Craig Matheson.
The question of premeditation is important because it is key to a conviction for aggravated first-degree murder, which brings a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole.
Conviction on a lesser charge could bring a lighter sentence.