Judge sets trial date for former Florida deputy who skipped DUI manslaughter trial

TAMPA, Fla. - A Tampa judge has set a Dec. 1 trial date for the former Polk County deputy who no-showed his trial for DUI manslaughter earlier this year.

Thursday's court hearing came after Joshua Roelofs was captured in Colombia earlier this month, then brought back to Florida this week. He had been on the run for four months.

Roelofs also pleaded not guilty during Thursday's hearing.

Case against Joshua Roelofs

The backstory:

In the early morning hours of April 13, 2022, Tampa police said Joshua Roelofs was driving at about 100 mph on the Courtney Campbell Causeway when he rear-ended a Kia Sorrento with four people inside.

Prosecutors say Joshua Roelofs was under the influence when he caused a crash in 2022, killing two people and injuring two others.

The SUV overturned, investigators said, killing two 44-year-old men: Kristopher Koroly and Ricky Gongora. A 36-year-old man and a 33-year-old woman also suffered critical injuries.

On Wednesday, investigators released dashcam video from inside Roelofs' car showing the crash.

Courtesy: Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

Investigators arrested Roelofs the following month on several charges, including two counts each of vehicular homicide and DUI manslaughter.

Jury selection in his trial was set to begin in April 2025, but Roelofs was a no-show.

On Wednesday, the Tampa Police Department said the U.S. Marshals Task Force provided information on Roelofs' whereabouts to Colombian authorities on Aug. 11.

Detectives arrested him at a hotel in Antioquia, Colombia, according to TPD.

Dig deeper:

"It was heart-wrenching, it was unimaginable. It was a nightmare," Jorge Negrete, Gongora's father, told FOX 13, adding he was, "crying during the day, praying at night that justice would be served, that he would be found."

Negrete was nearly at a loss for words when he learned Roelofs was staying in a luxury resort.

"This is something that is just so incredibly brazen and, just, he's not accepting responsibility," Negrete said, adding that the time Roelofs could spend in prison is nothing compared to the time Negrete will never get with his son. "I'll never hear his voice again. He'll never call me on Father's Day, Christmas ever again. And I hope Josh thinks about that every day when he's staring at those four walls in his prison cell."

What's next:

Roelofs is being held in the Hillsborough County Jail without bond ahead of his trial.