A 61-year-old man convicted of killing a 9-year-old in a road rage-fueled collision in Orange a decade ago died while in custody on a domestic violence case, Orange County sheriff’s officials said Wednesday.
Roderick Kent Jerro was taken by ambulance to a local hospital to be treated Monday. He was pronounced dead Tuesday at the hospital, sheriff’s officials said.
Jerro’s cause of death has not yet been determined.
Jerro was charged last month with attacking his wife and leading police in Orange on a chase June 17. He was charged with corporal injury on a spouse, leading police on a chase, possession of a gun by a felon, a prohibited person owning ammunition and driving under the influence of alcohol and drug, all felonies, as well as misdemeanor assault and battery.
Jerro was sentenced Nov. 2, 2018, to 17 years in prison for the collision that killed 9-year-old Jesse Rosales.
Co-defendant Miguel Villagomez Jr. was sentenced in October of that year to four years in prison.
The two men blamed each other for the Aug. 6, 2015, deadly chase and collision at Wilson Avenue in Orange.
A prosecutor said during the defendants’ trial that Villagomez, who was driving a Ford Ranger pickup, ran a red light and struck Jerro’s Chevrolet Malibu at Palm Avenue and Tustin Street in Orange about 9:30 p.m.
Villagomez kept going and Jerro chased him, the prosecutor said. The two raced on local streets, driving through stop signs and red lights, even driving on the wrong side of the road, the prosecutor said.
The two were still “driving like maniacs” when they ran a red light on Glassell at Wilson, the prosecutor said. At the time, Jesse and his 14-year-old sister, Yadira, were crossing Glassell to meet with their mother, Leticia. Villagomez’s truck just missed hitting the girl, who jumped backward, the prosecutor said.
The Malibu’s driver’s side mirror struck Jesse as witnesses heard a palpable “thump,” the prosecutor said. The boy was flung 30 feet, and was pronounced dead just before 10 p.m. at Children’s Hospital of Orange County.
The two suspects kept going until Villagomez lost control of his truck at Taft Avenue and slammed into a brick wall, the prosecutor said.
Jerro, still irate over the initial crash, grabbed a flashlight and smashed the windows of Villagomez’s pickup, the prosecutor said. Villagomez was on his cell phone and ignored witnesses who ran to his aid, the prosecutor said.