California man pleads guilty in Hunterdon truck stop killing

FLEMINGTON - A California man pleaded guilty Wednesday to fatally shooting a fellow trucker at a truck stop off I-78 in Union Township.

David Rodriguez, 46, of Rialto, Ca., pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter in the shooting death of Ricardo Menezes De Castro, 43, of Deerfield Beach, Florida, on Jan. 23, 2021, at the Pilot truck stop.

Rodriguez, originally charged with murder, is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 19 by Superior Court Judge Angela Borkowski who accepted his plea.

Rodriguez told the judge that he became involved in an argument with De Castro, which then "became physical."

"I kept backing up," Rodriguez said. "He swung at me several times."

Rodriguez, who had a Smith and Wesson .40 caliber handgun tucked in his belt under his shirt, said he was about 10 feet away from De Castro when he raised the gun and pointed it at him. He then fired the gun four times, he said, hitting DeCastro twice.

Court papers say that after the shooting, Rodriguez called 911 to say he had shot a fellow trucker who had spit at him. He then sat in his rig, unloaded the handgun and waited for state troopers to arrive.

Rodriguez and De Castro did not know each other before the encounter at the truck stop, court records say.

Arriving state troopers from the Perryville Station found De Castro inside the convenience store at the truck stop with gunshots wounds. He was taken to Hunterdon Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.

Rodriguez has been in the Warren County Jail since his arrest.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: California trucker pleads guilty in Hunterdon NJ rest stop killing