Elected Fresno County official to face murder trial, accused of running over Del Rey man
A Fresno County special district official, who is accused of killing a Del Ray man by running over him in March, will face a jury trial, a Fresno County Superior Court judge ruled Wednesday.
Rolando Sanchez, 54, is charged with the murder of 48-year-old Jaime Loza, who had just left his Del Rey home when he was hit. Fresno County Sheriff’s detectives allege Sanchez used his black Chevy Tahoe to run down Loza on March 16 at around 7 p.m. near the intersection of Carmel and Morro avenues.
Sanchez is an elected board member of the Del Rey Community Service District, which manages the community’s water supply. The board’s monthly meeting in March was held the same night and a block away from where Loza was run over. It’s unclear if Loza had attended the meeting.
Sanchez remains on the board, despite a request by the district for him to resign.
One of the key witnesses, who testified during Sanchez’s preliminary hearing, spoke to detectives for nearly an hour during the investigation. But on Wednesday, he couldn’t remember many of the details of that night.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Elana Smith asked the witness, who was identified as Miguel A., numerous times what he saw that night and he responded that he couldn’t remember. He also admitted to Smith that he did not want to testify.
Smith then called homicide detective Jose Diaz who helped fill in the blanks. Diaz testified that during his interview with Miguel he told him he saw Sanchez sitting in his black Tahoe near where Loza was walking. As Loza crossed the street, Sanchez began revving his engine.
“He then accelerated towards Mr. Loza with enough force to force him onto the hood of the Tahoe,” Diaz testified. “He continued south and then stopped as Loza fell from the hood and into the middle of the roadway. He was face down on the pavement and then the Tahoe continued to run over the top of him.”
When Diaz asked the witness how sure he was that Sanchez was the driver of the Tahoe, he told him “10” out of 10.
Under questioning from his defense attorney Wade Freitas, the witness said he felt pressured to talk to police. He also said he was under the influence of marijuana.
If convicted, Sanchez faces 62-years-to-life in prison. Smith offered him a plea deal, that would have resulted in a 17-year prison sentence if he pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter. Sanchez turned the deal down.
Sanchez returns to court on Jan. 25 for an arraignment.
This story was originally published January 11, 2024 at 7:09 AM.
