Leonides Rocha, aged 42, was tragically found shot to death on November 6, 2016, in Hayward, California. Rocha, along with his cousin Jose Martin Hernandez, 56, was discovered with gunshot wounds on Manon Avenue and Ranker Place. The two men were found outside an apartment building where they lived. Initial reports indicated that the police had not made any arrests or identified any suspects immediately following the incident.
This double homicide brought the total number of homicides in Hayward for the year 2016 to twelve, surpassing the previous year's count.
The investigation into the deaths of Rocha and Hernandez revealed that the incident was linked to an ongoing gang feud in the area. The Hayward police conducted a large-scale wiretap investigation, which uncovered that the double homicide was part of a bloody three-month conflict between rival subsets of a Northern California street gang. This period saw multiple homicides, including back-to-back killings in August 2016. The police identified Anthony Wolfe Jr., 24, and Oscar Aguilar, 23, as suspects in the case. Wolfe and Aguilar were associated with a South Hayward gang, with Wolfe being a member and Aguilar an associate.
During the preliminary hearing in December 2019, Hayward police Sgt. Andrew Valderrama testified about the gang-related nature of the homicides. He explained that gangs often commit crimes in rival territories to bolster their reputation and instill fear. Wolfe and Aguilar approached Rocha and Hernandez while they were watching a Raiders game in a garage. Wolfe allegedly shouted gang-related phrases and referenced a previous gang-related killing before opening fire.
In August 2021, Wolfe accepted a plea deal and was sentenced to 21 years in state prison after pleading no contest to two counts of voluntary manslaughter. Aguilar had previously accepted a six-year prison term in February 2020 after also pleading no contest to two counts of voluntary manslaughter. The plea deals brought some closure to the case, although the gang-related violence that led to the deaths of Rocha and Hernandez highlighted the ongoing issues of gang conflicts in the area.
