Christopher Isidro Rojas, Arson of Police Vehicle, Utah 2020

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Table of Contents

Utah Man Pleads Guilty in Burning of Police Car

Christopher Isidro Rojas, 29, of Salt Lake City, pleaded guilty to one felony count of civil disorder for his role in the burning of a Salt Lake City Police patrol car during the civil unrest in Salt Lake City on May 30, 2020.

Rojas admitted that he participated in the burning of the overturned patrol car with the intent and purpose of interfering with law enforcement officers. He used a cigarette lighter to ignite a piece of cloth thrown into the interior of the overturned patrol car by a co-defendant.

Prosecutors alleged that Rojas helped others rip a bumper from the overturned police car and then used a cigarette lighter to ignite a large piece of white cloth that was thrown into the police car by a co-defendant. Later that same afternoon, prosecutors alleged that Rojas was captured on video appearing to celebrate and bragging to others that he “put the cop car on fire.”

Rojas remains on home confinement until the date of his sentencing, which is currently set for November 24, 2021. He faces a maximum term of imprisonment of five years in prison, a payment of $2,500,000 in agreed upon restitution, and a term of supervised release of three years.

Co-defendant Lateesha Richards has previously been sentenced to 20 months in federal prison, along with co-defendant Jackson Patton, who has been sentenced to 24 months federal prison, for their respective roles in the burning of the patrol car. Co-defendants Latroi Devon Newbins and Larry Raynold Williams Jr. have entered pleas of guilty and now await sentencing.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys from the Utah U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case. Special Agents from the ATF and the FBI, and detectives from the Salt Lake City Police Department, conducted the investigation. The plea agreement marked a significant milestone in the investigation into the 2020 civil unrest in Salt Lake City.