KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The man accused of murdering North Kansas City Police Officer Daniel Vasquez last summer during a traffic stop will go on trial beginning in September 2025.
Joshua Rocha was charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action for allegedly shooting Vasquez, 32, after he was pulled over around 10:40 a.m. on July 19, 2022, near East 21st Avenue and Clay Street in North Kansas City.
Vasquez pulled over Rocha for having expired tags, which belonged to a Buick and expired in 2018.
Rocha, who was driving a Ford Taurus that he owned, shot Vasquez with an AR-15 rifle after the officer approached his vehicle.
He then admitted to exiting the vehicle and shooting Vasquez again, emptying the ammunition clip.
Rocha then fled the scene, triggering a citywide search for his gray Taurus.
Vasquez had joined the NKC Police Department in January 2021 as a recruit and graduated from the KCPD Regional Police Academy in July 2021, so he had been a sworn officer for a year at the time of his murder.
Amid the manhunt, Rocha walked into the Clay County Annex in the 1900 block of Northeast 48th Street in Kansas City, Missouri, and told a clerk he had “committed a murder.”
He later told investigators that he was on the way to buy ammunition for his .300 Blackout rifle, an AR-15 style of gun, and killed Vasquez “because he did not want to go to jail or have his vehicle towed.”
Police allege that Rocha had tried to paint the vehicle and removed the temporary tags to disguise it and also shaved and changed clothes.
KCPD officers found a gun that matched the weapon used to murder Vasquez in Rocha’s vehicle in the annex parking lot. Ballistics later matched Rocha’s gun to the slugs that killed Vasquez.
Rocha pleaded not guilty in September 2022. HIs next scheduled court hearing is Sept. 12, 2023.
The trial has been scheduled for two weeks — Sept. 29, 2025, and Oct. 6, 2025, in Clay County.
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For jurisdictions that utilize the Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers Tips Hotline, anonymous tips can be made by calling 816-474-TIPS (8477), submitting the tip online or through the free mobile app at P3Tips.com. Tips leading to an arrest made through the Tips Hotline may be eligible for up to a $25,000 reward.
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