DEL REY, Calif. (KMJ/KFSN) — 56-year-old Rolando Sanchez has been behind bars for the death of Jaime Loza for over two years, but as of Wednesday, he’s a free man.
“The lord answered prayers, and he is being released today,” Rolando’s sister-in-law, Juanita Sanchez, said in tears.
Prosecutors say Sanchez used his car to hit and kill Loza near Carmel and Morro Avenues in Del Rey in March of 2023.
In January of 2024, Sanchez rejected a plea deal.
He then went to trial, where he faced a murder charge for the incident.
After the first trial resulted in a hung jury, the second found him guilty of involuntary manslaughter.
“The jury believed that Mr. Loza jumped on Mr. Sanchez’s vehicle,” his defense attorney, Wade Freitas, explained. “The cause of death being an accidental driving over him as Mr. Sanchez was trying to get away from what he perceived as a threat.”
Prosecutors claimed Sanchez intended to kill Loza, but the jury’s decision says otherwise.
“The jury returning a verdict of involuntary manslaughter found as defined by the law that there was no malice of forethought, no specific intent to kill,” Fresno County Superior Court Judge Jonathan Conklin explained.
Sanchez appeared next to his attorney in court Wednesday, cane in hand, to hear his sentence.
“I order you to serve four years in the California Department of Corrections,” Judge Conklin said.
Given the time he has already served behind bars, Sanchez now walks free.
“He will be with family. We’re to support him. We love him. He has earned our love and respect,” Juanita said.
