A Manhattan jury found the man who drove his car onto bustling sidewalks of Times Square in 2017 is not responsible for the attack because he was suffering from mental illness, according to the Manhattan District Attorney's office
The jury determined Wednesday that Richard Rojas, 31, should not be held responsible by reason of mental disease or defect and he will not face a standard prison sentence for the charges against him, the district attorney's office said.Instead, the office said, he will be involuntarily mandated to a psychiatric setting determined by the judge. Rojas, a Bronx resident who had served in the Navy, plowed his car into crowds of pedestrians in Manhattan's buzzing Times Square on May 18, 2017.
He was charged with the murder of 18-year-old Alyssa Elsman, who was killed in the rampage, in addition to 20 counts of attempted murder, one count of aggravated vehicular homicide and a count of attempted murder in the second degree, according to the criminal complaint. He pleaded not guilty.Elsman's mother questioned the jury's decision after the verdict was announced.
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