TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – A former Polk County Sheriff’s deputy who left the country after being charged with multiple counts of DUI manslaughter, is now back in U.S. soil.
Tampa Police and the former US S-Service teamed up to arrest Joshua Roelofs.
TPD said he was arrested and brought back in Colombia. On Wednesday afternoon, Roeloff was denied the bond in court.
“It’s a nightmare to know that my brother died alone on the pavement because someone made these choices,” said Victoria Negret, Ricky Gongola’s sister.
The State Attorney’s Office provided footage of a fatal DUI accident in April 2022. The crash took place along the Courtney Campbell Causeway. Investigators said Roelofs was the person behind the wheel.
Two men were killed: Christopher Colory and Ricky Gongola, and two others were injured.
Roelofs fled the country after being released on bonds.
“We felt like he was about to show up just before Easter. He’s going to get justice, like this plea. The fact that he ran away was very shocking because he thought he would do the right thing and go ahead and go to prison.”
Roelofs faces multiple charges, including two counts of manslaughter and vehicle murder by DUI.
“This is extremely brave and he doesn’t accept simple and simple responsibility. So he has to face music in the Florida State Jail for over 100 years, plus additional charges that he has not appeared in bonds,” state Attorney Susie Lopez said.
On August 19, Tampa police said Colombian officials escorted Roelof on a flight to the US
8 Talk to both the families of the victims on your side, they said that he felt like he was coming closer to justice when he returned to prison.
“Getting information that he was taken into custody was a huge relief for us, at least as we continue to say that this person is behind the bar,” Negrete said.
“It’s been months since he was just running somewhere and we let it sink. It was very reassuring to hear that they actually brought him back to our soil,” Per said.
Roelofs will hold a status hearing at Hillsboro County Courthouse at 8:30am Thursday morning.
