A Dallas County jury has found 30-year-old Richard Rojas guilty of Intoxication Manslaughter in the March 2022 death of Manaliki Eugine Wilson. Rojas was sentenced to seven years in prison and a deadly weapon finding was issued for the vehicle used in the fatal crash.
The incident occurred on March 17, 2022, as Wilson was out celebrating a friend’s birthday near the Medical District. According to evidence presented at trial, Rojas had been kicked out of a different bar earlier in the evening before getting behind the wheel of his car. Witnesses testified that he was attempting to get food to "sober up" when he sped down a 30 mph road at approximately 80 mph.
Wilson was crossing the street with friends near Maple Avenue and Denton Drive Cut Off when Rojas struck him. The impact was so severe that Wilson’s body was thrown several feet to a nearby crosswalk. Toxicology results showed Rojas was nearly three times the legal limit for alcohol.
The case was prosecuted by lead prosecutor Priscilla Pelli and second chair Andrew James. DA investigators Ron Cathcart and Bill Martinez, along with paralegal Maria Cantrell, supported the prosecution. The investigation was conducted by the Dallas Police Department.
