Guilty: Rotter convicted of aggravated murder for killing Everett cop

EVERETT — Richard Rotter is guilty of aggravated first-degree murder for killing Everett police officer Dan Rocha last year, a jury found Monday.

The verdict leaves the Kennewick man, 51, with only one possible sentence: life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Sentencing is set for April 17.

Announced around 11:30 a.m. Monday, it took about four hours of deliberations for a jury of eight women and four men to reach the unanimous verdict. Jurors deliberated for over three hours Friday before coming back Monday to discuss for another hour.

Jurors had the option of convicting Rotter of a lesser charge, second-degree murder, but found him guilty of aggravated murder.

The jury also found Rotter guilty of unlawful firearm possession, possession with the intent to manufacture or distribute methamphetamine, fentanyl and heroin, and attempting to elude police.

As Superior Court Judge Bruce Weiss announced the verdict, over a dozen uniformed Everett police officers and Chief Dan Templeman packed the gallery. Police officials hugged after the verdict was delivered.

Standing in a gray dress shirt with his hair slicked back, Rotter watched as Weiss announced the verdict.

In a statement, Templeman said the verdict “comes with mixed feelings.”

“While on one hand, I am pleased to see that the defendant will be held accountable for his actions to the fullest extent of the law, it still doesn’t bring Dan back, nor does it change the fact that his family lost a loving son, husband, brother and father,” the chief said in the statement.

He added: “Moving forward, the Everett Police Department will remain steadfast in our commitment to honor and remember Officer Rocha and his legacy of community service. We will never forget.”

The lead deputy prosecutor on the case, Craig Matheson, said “hopefully this gives the Rocha family some small measure of closure.”

On March 25, 2022, Rocha was on patrol in north Everett, when he stopped for coffee at the Starbucks at 1010 N. Broadway, as he often did. After ordering, he saw Rotter moving guns between two cars in the parking lot, the officer’s body camera footage shows. He went outside to talk to Rotter.

The two talked calmly for about eight minutes before Rocha, who joined the police department in 2017, tried to arrest Rotter, a convicted felon, for investigation of unlawful firearm possession. As Rocha struggled with the suspect, Rotter pulled a Glock out of a shoulder holster he hid beneath a heavy Carhartt jacket, prosecutors alleged.

He shot Rocha five times, including three to the head. All three of those shots would’ve been fatal for Rocha on their own, an autopsy found.

Rotter fled in a blue Mini Cooper, running over the officer’s dead body as he sped away from the parking lot. Police arrested him after he caused a three-car crash at the intersection of 35th Street and Rucker Avenue.

The verdict came after nearly two weeks of testimony at trial in Snohomish County Superior Court. The defendant didn’t testify.

The most important testimony may have come Thursday, as the key question for jurors wasn’t whether Rotter killed Rocha, but whether he could’ve been premeditated in doing so.

Psychologist Wendi Wachsmuth told the jury she diagnosed the defendant with a mild brain disorder affecting his planning skills, leading to a “reactionary response” when Rocha tried to arrest him, tied to previous interactions with police.

“It is incredibly unlikely he would have the capacity to organize his behavior,” Wachsmuth testified.

And a toxicologist, Granville Storey, testified Rotter’s drug use on the day of the killing may have affected him. Toxicology results found 0.222 milligrams of meth and 3.0 nanograms of fentanyl per milliliter of Rotter’s blood.

The prosecution and defense made their final arguments to the jury Friday morning.

Deputy prosecutor Craig Matheson urged jurors to use “common sense” when deciding if Rotter’s actions were premeditated.

In state law, premeditation is defined as “more than a moment in point of time,” but doesn’t require extensive planning, Matheson noted.

Rotter’s public defender, Natalie Tarantino, told the jury her client had “no plan.” Instead, a combination of drug use and post-traumatic stress led him to shoot Rocha five times.

“It was reactionary and fast and impulsive, which are just the symptoms of his mental health disorders,” she said.

In an interview, Snohomish County Prosecutor Jason Cummings called it a “solemn day.”

“Justice has been served, but it doesn’t bring back officer Rocha,” he said.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Jake Goldstein-Street: 425-339-3439; jake.goldstein-street@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @GoldsteinStreet.