Judge sentences man to maximum sentence allowed by law for slaying at VIA bus stop

SAN ANTONIO – In the 227th District Court, Judge Christine Del Prado sentenced Jose Rocha to the maximum sentence allowed by law.

Rocha in early March was found guilty by a jury in the 2015 murder of Aaron Riedner.

Riedner was fatally shot by Rocha as the two got off a VIA bus at Buena Vista and South Zarzamora.

The trial took years to begin as Rocha was found incompetent in 2017 and competency wasn’t restored until 2021.

Rocha was also sentenced to 25 years on the separate charge of deadly weapon in a penal institute.

The two sentences will run concurrently and he is also eligible for parole after serving 30 years.