Driver in deadly crash was shot, VA officials say. Now, passenger sentenced
A Virginia man has been sentenced in the 2022 death of a man who tried to drive away after being shot and fatally crashed, prosecutors said.
Emilio Jiovanni Rodriquez-Lopez, 23, will serve 10 years in prison with an additional three years suspended as long as he completes an undefined period of supervised probation and has 10 years of good behavior after he is released, the Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office said in an April 28 news release.
In February, a jury found Rodriquez-Lopez guilty of voluntary manslaughter and using a firearm in connection with the death of 22-year-old Aaron Wayne Leach Jr., according to the release.
Rodriquez-Lopez was riding in the passenger seat of an SUV Leach was driving in September 2022 when Rodriquez-Lopez shot Leach during a drug transaction, prosecutors said.
One of Rodriquez-Lopez’s friends was waiting nearby and fired shots into the car at Leach who was hit by several bullets coming from both sides, according to the commonwealth’s attorney’s office.
During the shooting, Rodriquez-Lopez was hit by a bullet in the stomach, prosecutors said. He rolled out of the SUV and got help for his injury nearby.
Leach then tried to drive away but crashed into a parked car and died, prosecutors said. Detectives found no evidence of him having a weapon during the shooting.
When police arrived, Rodriquez-Lopez told them Leach was trying to rob him, so he shot Leach in self-defense, prosecutors said. Rodriquez-Lopez was charged after police completed their investigation.
“We believe in our cases and in our arguments, but we also believe in the right of juries to render verdicts and judges to use their discretion to impose sentences,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi said in the release. “Each part of the system has done its job, and Mr. Rodriguez-Lopez will serve a prison sentence.”
In an online obituary, Leach was remembered as “full of life” and “willing to lend a helping hand.”
“His infectious smile made everyone who encountered him fall in love,” the obituary said. “He will always be remembered, deeply missed, and loved by everyone.”
