Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Carlsbad gangster sentenced in stabbing case

Juan Alberto Rocha Jr., now 21, was sentenced this morning to 15-years-to-life for his part in a gang stabbing that killed a man, more than a year ago. His two-week trial finished last summer.

Rocha was reportedly part of a group of men who confronted several persons leaving a popular nightspot in Carlsbad after 10 p.m. on March 25, 2011.

Witnesses reported hearing a man yell, “You’re in the wrong town! Carlos Malos!” just before one man got a single stab to his abdomen. Both the victim and his alleged attackers were seen inside Hensley’s Flying Elephant Pub, earlier.

The wounded man, Devin Allen, 27, was declared dead about an hour later.

Rocha and other persons allegedly involved in the attack fled the scene that night. Rocha was first identified as a suspect by Carlsbad Police after reviewing surveillance video from the bar. The fugitive was reportedly tracked by his cell phone use and captured by U.S. Marshals on a bus to Ohio, four days later.

Rocha is a “documented VCLS gang member” who “goes by the name of Buddy,” according to Carlsbad Police Detective Bryan Hargett. The gang, Vario Carlsbad Locos, is mostly male and Hispanic and has “been around for generations” according to the detective.

Prosecutor Geoff Allard, who specializes in gang cases, suggested to the jury that the attack was racially motivated. The prosecutor told the jury there was gang graffiti which read “FUCK NIGGERS” spray painted in the same area and signed “Carlsbad 13;” this was said to be documented in October 2011.

The prosecutor also made an unusual admission to the jury – he said that defendant Rocha “almost certainly” was not the one who actually stabbed the victim; instead the prosecutor admitted that another fugitive named Pedro Avalos, now 23, was probably the one who actually wielded the knife. But the prosecutor insisted that Rocha should still to be held accountable, since he was part of a gang attack which ended in death.

The jury deliberated three full days before pronouncing Rocha guilty of second-degree murder, on August 2, 2012.

Juan Alberto Rocha Jr., was sentenced by the same judge who heard the trial, Honorable Runston Maino, in San Diego’s North County Superior Courthouse.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/oct/19/33851/

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/oct/19/33852/

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/oct/19/33853/

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Poway’s schools, faced with money squeeze, fined for voter mailing

$105 million bond required payback of nearly 10 times that amount
Next Article

Now what can they do with Encinitas unstable cliffs?

Make the cliffs fall, put up more warnings, fine beachgoers?

Juan Alberto Rocha Jr., now 21, was sentenced this morning to 15-years-to-life for his part in a gang stabbing that killed a man, more than a year ago. His two-week trial finished last summer.

Rocha was reportedly part of a group of men who confronted several persons leaving a popular nightspot in Carlsbad after 10 p.m. on March 25, 2011.

Witnesses reported hearing a man yell, “You’re in the wrong town! Carlos Malos!” just before one man got a single stab to his abdomen. Both the victim and his alleged attackers were seen inside Hensley’s Flying Elephant Pub, earlier.

The wounded man, Devin Allen, 27, was declared dead about an hour later.

Rocha and other persons allegedly involved in the attack fled the scene that night. Rocha was first identified as a suspect by Carlsbad Police after reviewing surveillance video from the bar. The fugitive was reportedly tracked by his cell phone use and captured by U.S. Marshals on a bus to Ohio, four days later.

Rocha is a “documented VCLS gang member” who “goes by the name of Buddy,” according to Carlsbad Police Detective Bryan Hargett. The gang, Vario Carlsbad Locos, is mostly male and Hispanic and has “been around for generations” according to the detective.

Prosecutor Geoff Allard, who specializes in gang cases, suggested to the jury that the attack was racially motivated. The prosecutor told the jury there was gang graffiti which read “FUCK NIGGERS” spray painted in the same area and signed “Carlsbad 13;” this was said to be documented in October 2011.

The prosecutor also made an unusual admission to the jury – he said that defendant Rocha “almost certainly” was not the one who actually stabbed the victim; instead the prosecutor admitted that another fugitive named Pedro Avalos, now 23, was probably the one who actually wielded the knife. But the prosecutor insisted that Rocha should still to be held accountable, since he was part of a gang attack which ended in death.

The jury deliberated three full days before pronouncing Rocha guilty of second-degree murder, on August 2, 2012.

Juan Alberto Rocha Jr., was sentenced by the same judge who heard the trial, Honorable Runston Maino, in San Diego’s North County Superior Courthouse.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/oct/19/33851/

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/oct/19/33852/

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/oct/19/33853/

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Boss sentenced for brawl with employees

Next Article

Brawl at School Carnival Turned Into Stabbing

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader