A Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy charged with murder after killing a 12-year-old boy in a high-speed crash while off duty has pleaded no contest to vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence.
Ricardo Castro, 30, was at the wheel of his pickup truck on Nov. 3, 2021, when it rammed a car turning left in front of him at an intersection, killing Isaiah Rodriguez in that vehicle’s passenger seat and injuring the boy’s 19-year-old sister, according to authorities. Castro was off duty at the time of the crash. Isaiah, who lived in South Gate, died at a Long Beach hospital, and his sister was treated for broken bones.
Castro was charged with second-degree murder last year along with vehicular manslaughter. He entered the plea Thursday in a downtown courtroom; he is expected to receive six years in state prison when he returns there for sentencing on Sept. 25.