Springdale Man Arrested After Mother's Shooting Death

SPRINGDALE -- A woman died Friday and her son is in jail in connection with her shooting, authorities said.

Scott Aaron Rocha, 36, was arrested Friday in connection with capital murder and tampering with evidence, according to the Springdale Police Department. His mother, Frances Rocha, 65, was pronounced dead in their home at 3547 Loblolly Place, said Lt. Derek Hudson, police public information officer.

Frances Rocha owned the home.

Rocha was arrested after police were called by Rocha's friend, James Allen. Allen requested police check on Scott Rocha after receiving a call from him at 12:48 a.m. Friday saying he was thinking about "ending it all."

Allen lives in California, according to police records.

When police arrived at the house, no one would answer the door. Officers saw, through a window, blood on a chair in the house, according to police.

When officers entered and began searching the house, Scott Rocha came out of a bedroom. Officers asked about the blood, and Rocha said it was his mother's and he shot her accidentally, Hudson said.

Rocha was taken into custody and, after questioning, officers determined the shooting was intentional, according to the release.

The house on Loblolly is in a neighborhood on a dead-end street about 150 feet from the east city limit. Chris Johns, who lives across the street from the Rocha home, said he and his roommate moved into the house in January after deciding it was a nice neighborhood.

"I would see the woman across the street at times," Johns said of Frances Rocha. "She was nice. I never saw the son."

Timothy Hawkins, a Springdale High School student who also lives on Loblolly, said he occasionally saw Scott Rocha working on his car.

"He was OK," Hawkins said.

Johns and Hawkins said they didn't know anything happened at the Rochas' home until they got up and saw the police crime scene tape.

Police copied video from a camera at Johns' house.

"We bought cameras for security when the door to our old apartment was kicked in," Johns said. "When we moved here, we put them up because we already had them."

Johns said he didn't realize one camera picked up the front door of the Rocha house until the night before the shooting.

Johns said he didn't know if the video showed anything of the incident.

Rocha was scheduled to be taken to the Washington County Detention Center on Friday where he will await a bond hearing.

The investigation is continuing, Hudson said.

NW News on 03/08/2014

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