Almost a year to the day after Juan Lopez was struck and killed in a hit-and-run on Santa Barbara’s Cliff Drive, suspect Brock Alexander Hoffman appeared in Santa Barbara Superior Court for a preliminary hearing on Tuesday morning.
On the night of June 29, 2024, Hoffman fatally struck Juan Lopez, a Vons store manager, with his 1996 Toyota Landcruiser on the 800 block of Cliff Drive. Hoffman turned himself in on July 4, 2024, and was quickly released on $50,000 bail. On September 11, he pleaded not guilty to one felony count of “leaving the scene of an accident that resulted in death.”
More than 10 months later, Hoffman appeared in court in a blue sport jacket on Tuesday with his attorney Joshua Zane Webb in a preliminary hearing in front of Judge Stephen Foley. Deputy District Attorney Michelle Mossembekker was present representing the people. She was recently commended by Santa Barbara District Attorney John Savrnoch for her work on a 2024 case convicting Andrew Raymond Burgher of double murder for a DUI crash on Cathedral Oaks back in 2021.
Also present was Traffic Officer Edward Kasper, who took the witness stand. When asked about what had happened that night, Officer Kasper said that Lopez was crossing Cliff Drive when the Landcruiser, driven by Hoffman, struck him. With hesitation in his voice, Officer Kasper said that Lopez was “instantly deceased.” According to Officer Kasper, Hoffman did not call 9-1-1…