Event Brief
Port Hueneme man pleads guilty in cyclist attack
By The BriefBrief · Sources (2)
Filed: Aug 27, 2026 at 2:00 AM ET
Summary: A Ventura County man, Samuel Matthew Rocha, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for intentionally using his Lexus sedan to hit a group of teenage bicyclists in Port Hueneme. The April 19, 2021 attack killed 16-year-old Pedro Valdez and injured four other minors, after Rocha assaulted others moments earlier at a laundromat and parking lot.
WHO: Samuel Matthew Rocha, Ventura County District Attorney’s Office; victim Pedro Valdez and four injured teenage cyclists
WHAT: Plea of guilty to second-degree murder for using a vehicle as a weapon in a fatal attack on teen cyclists
WHEN: Apr 19, 2021
WHERE: Port Hueneme, Ventura County, California
WHY: Prosecutors said Rocha made a deliberate decision to use his vehicle to hit the cyclists.
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