Jurors found Rocha guilty not only of murder, but also of burglary, assault, disorderly conduct and interfering with judicial proceedings after the 2023 attack in Glendale.
PHOENIX, Ariz. — The prosecution of Rueben Rocha ended with a natural life sentence, but the case was built step by step around what authorities said he did before, during and after a June 2023 attack inside his ex-girlfriend’s Glendale apartment.
The legal outcome was broader than a single murder count. Jurors convicted Rocha of first-degree murder and eight additional charges after prosecutors argued that he forced entry through a balcony door, opened fire repeatedly, injured two other women and violated existing court protections tied to Jordin Castillo. That fuller charge list mattered because it showed how Maricopa County prosecutors structured the case: as a deliberate break-in and multi-victim shooting, not simply a fatal domestic dispute. By the time Rocha was sentenced in March 2026, the court had accepted nearly every major element of that theory.
Authorities said the attack happened on June 4, 2023, at a third-floor apartment in Glendale near 51st and Northern avenues. Six people were inside, according to the county attorney’s office, including Castillo and the 2-year-old daughter she shared with Rocha. Prosecutors said Rocha reached the apartment by climbing onto the balcony and kicking through the glass door. That alleged entry was important because it supported the burglary count and established that he was forcing his way into a place where he was not supposed to be. Once inside or at the threshold, according to prosecutors, he opened fire while Castillo was on the phone with 911. Two adults took the child and hid. Castillo was killed, and two friends survived with serious injuries. Officials later said Rocha fired 19 times during the attack.
Each count in the verdict tracked a different part of that account. The first-degree murder conviction addressed Castillo’s death. The first-degree burglary count matched the alleged forced entry through the balcony door. Two aggravated assault convictions reflected the injuries to surviving victims. Four disorderly conduct counts pointed to the danger created for multiple people in the apartment. A misdemeanor count of interfering with judicial proceedings tied back to the protective order Castillo invoked during the emergency call. Put together, the verdict map showed how prosecutors converted one burst of violence into a courtroom narrative with separate legal pieces. It also meant Rocha faced punishment for the effect on every person caught in the apartment, not only for the homicide that drew the most public attention.
The evidence described publicly was unusually vivid. Castillo’s 911 call was central because it placed her voice inside the timeline just before the shots. Local media reported that she could be heard saying she had an order of protection and begging Rocha to leave. Police and prosecutors also emphasized Rocha’s clothing and approach in the early reporting, with Fox 10 saying he was described as dressed in black, wearing a mask and a hoodie when he arrived. Investigators at the time said they were examining online conflict, described publicly as “social media drama,” as part of the lead-up. Rocha turned himself in after the shooting, which closed the immediate manhunt phase and moved the case quickly into charging and detention.
When jurors convicted Rocha in February 2026, the verdict gave prosecutors nearly a complete win. The sentencing that followed in March locked that result into a final trial-court judgment. The county attorney’s office said Rocha received natural life on the murder conviction, along with another 52.5 years, and that 15 of those years must be served consecutively to the life term. In practical terms, that means the added years are not symbolic even though the murder sentence already ensures Rocha will die in prison unless a higher court changes the result. The sentence also signaled that the court treated the non-homicide victims and the forced-entry conduct as serious harms deserving separate punishment.
Family members and prosecutors supplied the human dimension after the legal structure was complete. ABC15 reported that relatives were present when the verdict was read, and Castillo’s aunt later described her as strong and thoughtful. County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said Castillo deserved safety and said the surviving child deserved to grow up with a mother. Those statements did not alter the legal findings, but they explained why the charge list and sentencing terms carried public weight beyond courtroom procedure. The case became a record not only of what Rocha did, but of what the state said happened to every person inside that apartment and how the justice system chose to count each piece of the harm.
With sentencing finished, the case now rests on the convictions entered and the prison term imposed in March 2026. Any future development would most likely come from appellate review, while the trial record remains fixed around the burglary, the 19 shots, the 911 call and the death of Jordin Castillo.
Author note: Last updated April 14, 2026.