Change of venue denied: Richard Rotter to stand trial for murder of officer Dan Rocha in Snohomish County

EVERETT, Wash. - Richard Rotter, the man accused of killing an Everett Police officer last year, will have to stand trial in Snohomish County.   

Rotter's defense attorneys asked a judge to move the trial out of the county where officer Dan Rocha worked and was fatally shot last year. The attorneys argued for change of venue in court Friday, citing past media coverage of an initial plan by Rotter to plead guilty as a problem for selecting potential jurors. 

"The moment one juror hears ‘Mr. Rotter had planned to plead guilty as charged’-- that is a level of taint that can’t be undone," said one of his attorneys.   

Prosecutors argued to keep the case in the county, saying that in other high-profile cases, jury selection hasn't been a problem.  

"I’ve constantly been shocked by the lack of information jurors have about the case," said Craig Matheson, the senior deputy prosecuting attorney with the Snohomish County Prosecutors Office.

The judge determined the case would stay in Snohomish County for now.  

"Today I’m going to deny the motion to change venue without prejudice," the judge said. "If it becomes clear it’s going to become impossible, I’ll renew it on my own motion." 

The judge also ruled that body camera footage will be allowed into evidence.  Footage from officer Rocha's body camera shows him interacting with Rotter in a parking lot minutes before he was shot and killed. A second set of videos shows Rotter's arrest by officer Devin Hackett, who testified during the hearing.  

"When I arrived at that intersection, the subject we were pursuing, now identified as Mr. Rotter, had crashed," said Devin Hackett, a detective with the Everett Police Department.

Hackett said his body camera captured Rotter's statements. 

"The first thing he was saying was, ‘They are after me. They are chasing me’.  He just kept repeating that, repeatedly," said Hackett.  

"I find all those statements are admissible," said the judge.  He also reviewed what prosecutors will argue as a motive in the case.   

"The state’s theory for the motive for the killing is that being directly related to the defendant being in possession of a firearm and having a large amount of drugs," said the judge. 

Also discussed in court today, the defense that Rotter's attorneys plan to use at trial. 

"The defenses to count one are diminished capacity and self-defense. The defense for counts two and for three is general denial. The defense expert opines as to the inability of the defendant to premeditate but concludes that the defendant had the ability to form the intent to kill officer Rocha," said the judge.  

The judge says it's expected that it will take a week for jury selection.  The prosecution estimated they would likely need at least three weeks for the trial, which will include around 50 to 60 witnesses.