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Ex-deputy stands trial for DUI manslaughter
An ex-deputy charged with DUI manslaughter is now underway in Hillsborough County after he was supposed to stand trial last year but fled the country. FOX 13’s Kylie Jones reports.
TAMPA, Fla. - Opening statements began in the trial for a former deputy charged with DUI manslaughter.
Joshua Roelofs is accused of killing two people in a crash on the Courtney Campbell Causeway in 2022.
The backstory:
The crash happened in the early morning hours of April 13, 2022.
Tampa police say he rear-ended a Kia Sorrento with four people inside. 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.
Investigators arrested Roelofs the following month on several charges, including two counts each of vehicular homicide and DUI manslaughter.
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Jury selection in his trial was set to begin in April 2025, but Roelofs was a no-show. The judge issued a warrant for Roelofs' arrest and revoked his bond, saying he would reassess the case once Roelofs was back in custody.
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.
Colombian authorities flew him back to Florida to face charges.
Roelofs has been in jail since a judge revoked his bond and he was arrested in Colombia.
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Roelofs previously worked for the Polk County Sheriff's Office but wasn't employed there at the time of the crash. The sheriff's office previously said he was a PCSO deputy until 2015, when he was arrested for falsifying his timecard.
What they're saying:
On Tuesday morning, prosecutors said Roelofs was drinking in downtown St. Pete with a friend before the crash.
The state said a dash camera in Roelofs' car captured him driving his friend home that night and his friend was heard asking him multiple times if he was okay.
"The defendant's car was equipped with a dash camera that night, and you'll be able to see either the full thing, which is hours-worth of footage, or the state will also put into evidence a summary of clips that we believe are useful to you," Asst. State Attorney Kelsey Day said. "In those clips, you will be able to see that the defendant was driving so recklessly that he did not consider anyone else on the roads. You'll see him revving his engine of his Nissan GTR, speeding down the highways, weaving in and out of lanes, even driving in bike lanes."
Prosecutors said he was driving over 100 miles per hour seconds before the crash.
"He was going 103 miles per hour five seconds before that impact," Day said. "He didn't even register that there was a car in front of him. You'll see that he didn't apply his brakes until half a second before the crash, and he was only able to slow his car down to 75 miles per hour at the time of impact."
The state said officers at the scene did not originally see signs of impairment on Roelofs, but eventually smelled alcohol on his breath.
A blood draw was taken hours after the crash. Investigators reportedly used a mathematical equation to determine a range that Roelofs' blood alcohol level was at, at the time of the crash, which was over the legal limit.
The prosecutor also noted that Roelofs was supposed to stand trial last April.
"He came the week before for his pre-trial conference and fled to Colombia just a couple of days later, and never showed up for his jury trial," Day said. "You'll hear him on his jail calls talking about this, saying he could've made a life in Colombia, because he had no intention of ever facing prosecution for this case."
The two surviving victims who were in the car with Koroly and Gongora testified on Tuesday about the injuries they're still left with.
The other side:
During the defense's opening statement, Roelofs' attorney said he didn't flee the country because he's guilty.
"He failed to appear because he's scared, and innocent people are just as scared as guilty people, if not more so," Roelofs' attorney, Nicole Engebretsen said. "He has admitted what he has done and he will take the consequences for what he has done as far as failing to appear, but he sits here before you today innocent of the charges against him."
The defense also argued that DUI officers at the scene of the crash didn't see signs of impairment, and that Roelofs' estimated blood alcohol level is an assumption.
"They didn't see any bloodshot eyes," Engebretsen said. "They didn't see any unsteady (...) they didn't smell any alcohol. The state talks about the wind a lot (...) people can be found guilty of DUI in windy conditions. The wind does not erase bloodshot eyes."
Roelofs' attorney argued that the dash camera footage from inside Roelofs' car didn't visually depict what was happening inside his car.
"That dash cam only shows the road, the outside of the vehicle," Engebretsen said. "You cannot see inside the vehicle. You cannot see what he is doing at the time of the crash. You cannot see if he had fallen asleep at the time of the crash."
The defense questioned a witness who saw a car roll over on the road, which was identified as the victims' car.
"You didn't smell any alcohol coming from him, correct?" Engebretsen said,"'Not at the time,' the witness said. "You didn't notice him slurring his words, correct? 'No, just being confused.’ You didn't notice any bloodshot eyes? I wasn't looking at them."
What's next:
Witness testimony is expected to continue on Wednesday.
The Source: This article was written with information gathered by FOX 13’s Kylie Jones.