A 35th District Court jury returned a verdict of guilty of capital murder against 22-year-old Pedro Rocha, Jr. Tuesday in the 2009 shooting death of Ronald Philen, one week after the trial began.
The jury began deliberations around 11:20 a.m. and approximately one hour later, jurors returned the guilty verdict against Rocha. Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty and Rocha will be sentenced to mandatory life in prison without parole.
During the trial, the prosecution proved that Rocha was involved in the home invasion which led to the shooting death of Ronald Philen. Rocha, along with three others, was arrested in January 2012 on capital murder charges. Alex “Lucky” Gil entered a plea agreement earlier this year and received a 40 year prison sentence, as did 22-year-old Efrain Castillo III who also received a 40 year sentence. 22-year-old Matthew Navarro has yet to be tried and is being held in the Brown County Jail without bail.
Testimony had been heard from Philen’s twin brother Randall, who had originally been convicted of the death in November 22, 2011, at which time Judge Ellis issued a sentence of life in prison for the murder and two years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Institutional Division, for a felony marijuana charge which would run concurrently. He was later exonerated and released from prison after new evidence was uncovered in the case which indicated a home invasion had occurred and that others had committed the murder.
During the trial, jurors had heard testimony from detectives of the Brownwood Police Department who were on scene the night of the murder along Philen’s sister Penny Lawson, forensic scientist and the medical examiner who performed the autopsy.
