Kent man sentenced to 11 years for robberies, vehicular homicide

A Kent man who, in February 2024, robbed someone of their car, fled police, and, while fleeing, then robbed another person of their car, was sentenced to just under 11 years in prison for three robbery charges, hit-and-run death and vehicular homicide, among six other charges.

On Sept. 5, following a felony plea agreement, Ernesto Rojas-Renteria, 28, of Kent, was sentenced to 129 months in prison for two counts of first-degree robbery, and in a separate case, he was sentenced to 120 months for hit-and-run death and 116 months for vehicular homicide. As part of a plea agreement, all of Rojas-Renteria’s charges are to run at the same time.

Rojas-Renteria’s other charges include a residential burglary from 2022, second-degree robbery from 2024, theft of a motor vehicle from 2024, possession of a stolen vehicle from 2024, two counts of attempt to elude a police vehicle from the same case as the first-degree robbery charges, and another count of attempt to elude a police vehicle from the same case as the hit-and-run death.

The robbery charges — the charges with the highest sentence — stem from a Feb. 13, 2024, incident where Rojas-Renteria was in a stolen vehicle, police attempted to stop him, and he then robbed someone of their vehicle before he crashed into someone else’s vehicle and robbed them of that car.

“The defendant (Rojas-Renteria) engaged in repeated acts of reckless violence against multiple victims,” wrote Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Jennifer Phillips in charging documents. “The defendant took extreme measures to evade police, ran into several cars, stole two cars and victimized several members of our community to avoid apprehension.”

Rojas-Renteria had a total of nine charges contributing to his offender score of 12 for the crime of first-degree robbery, putting his sentencing range between 129 months and 171 months in prison. The prosecution and the defense had an agreed recommendation to the court that Rojas-Renteria be sentenced to 129 months in prison for the first-degree robbery charges.

According to King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office spokesperson Casey McNerthney, another person who was involved with the February 2024 case was Brandy Marie Gomez, who was charged with attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle. McNerthney said that Gomez pleaded guilty on Aug. 12, and her sentencing range for the crime was between zero and 60 days. McNerthney said that Gomez was sentenced to 60 days on electronic home monitoring with credit for time served.

Charging documents state that the vehicular homicide charge stems from a Dec. 23, 2023, incident where Rojas-Renteria was running from police while he was driving a stolen truck with a trailer that was holding an excavator. While Rojas-Renteria was running from police, a man was in the excavator, and when Rojas-Renteria hit a curb, the trailer was dislodged, causing the man to eject from the excavator and die.

CASE DETAILS

At about 12:27 p.m. on Feb. 13, 2024, Kent Police were notified by the Sheriff’s Office helicopter about a stolen white Cadillac Escalade that had been reported stolen out of Pierce County on Feb. 12. The vehicle was parked at an apartment complex in the 20900 block of 110th Avenue SE, according to documents.

Guardian One reported to Kent Police that the Escalade had stopped at the Shell Station at 720 Central Avenue North. Documents state that a Kent officer arrived and reportedly recognized Rojas-Renteria in the Escalade from prior vehicle theft incidents, and Rojas-Renteria was also a suspect in a vehicular homicide in Kent.

Documents state that Rojas-Renteria saw the officer and sprinted toward the driver’s seat of the Escalade, where an officer also saw a female in the vehicle who was later identified as Gomez. According to documents, the Escalade left the gas station at a high rate of speed.

Due to state pursuit policies at the time of the incident, Kent Police noted officers were not allowed to chase the vehicle. Guardian One, however, continued to track the vehicle northbound on Central Avenue, northbound on Highway 167, then exiting Highway 167 and heading eastbound on SE 212th Street, documents state.

Guardian One reported the Escalade was driving at a high rate of speed and into oncoming lanes of traffic. Documents state the Escalade struck a white van at the intersection of SE 212th Street and 108th Avenue SE, then continued eastbound before turning north onto 124th Avenue SE.

At the intersection of 124th Avenue SE and SE 192nd Street, Guardian One reported the driver of the Escalade had exited the vehicle and was fighting with another motorist, according to court documents. He reportedly carjacked a red Ford Explorer, later identified as a Ford Expedition. Gomez then moved to the driver’s seat of the Escalade and drove off, documents state.

The two people in the Expedition told officers that the Escalade had sideswiped them and then stopped before the Escalade driver approached their vehicle and reportedly pulled the driver out of the seat. The passenger in the Expedition managed to jump out while the vehicle was in motion, documents state. Documents state that an officer drove up to the Escalade, saw it speed away, and, due to the carjacking, officers were able to legally pursue the vehicle.

Meanwhile, other officers located the maroon Expedition going at a high rate of speed along SE 192nd Street. At the intersection of SE 192nd Street and 140th Avenue SE, the Expedition struck another vehicle and came to a stop, according to documents.

Rojas-Renteria exited the Expedition and physically pulled a female driver out of a blue Subaru Forrester that had stopped. Rojas-Renteria entered the Subaru and fled south on 140th Avenue SE, documents state. Officers pursued the Subaru south on 132nd Avenue SE and saw the vehicle run a red light at SE 208th Street, reaching speeds estimated at 100 mph as it passed in the center turn lane to get by slower motorists.

The Subaru continued at high speeds eastbound on SE 240th Street and then turned south on 148th Avenue SE. At SE 256th Street, the driver turned west and into a residential neighborhood on 146th Avenue SE, documents state.

Guardian One continued to track the Subaru, which headed eastbound on SE Petrovitsky Road, but a Sheriff’s Office deputy managed to deploy stop sticks, which the Subaru ran over. The vehicle then went out of control and crashed near SE 232nd Avenue, documents state. Deputies surrounded the vehicle and then detained Rojas-Renteria.

Meanwhile, according to documents, another Kent officer pursued the Escalade, driven by Gomez, eastbound on SE 192nd Street. Police observed the Escalade roll over into a residential yard at 20103 148th Ave. SE after colliding with another vehicle. A resident told police a female had just run through his yard, and Guardian One subsequently joined in the search for Gomez. The helicopter spotted Gomez in a wooded area near a small creek, and officers took her into custody.

Video of pursuit

View the King County Sheriff’s Office Guardian One helicopter pursuit video on YouTube.