Tampa man gets life in prison for beating pregnant girlfriend to death

TAMPA — For the vicious beating of his pregnant girlfriend, a crime that ended her life and that of her unborn child, a Tampa man will spend the rest of his life in prison, a judge ruled Thursday.

Hillsborough Circuit Judge Samantha Ward imposed the sentence after a jury this week convicted Jay Leonard Rodriguez on charges of second-degree murder and killing an unborn child by injury to the mother.

The crime happened Oct. 17, 2020. Tampa police received a 911 call early that morning. The caller reported that a woman in a home on the 2200 block of East Emma Street was not breathing, and that she’d been beaten by her boyfriend, who’d left.

The victim was identified in court records as Jennifer Barreras. Officers found her unconscious, with bruising and swelling about her head, according to court records. She was six months pregnant. She was taken to a hospital, where she was declared dead. She was 25.

Doctors delivered her baby. The child, named Aralynn, lived for 20 minutes.

Key testimony in the case came from Barreras’ roommate. She told detectives she’d heard Barreras screaming for help and ran to her bedroom. She described seeing Rodriguez punching her as she cowered on her knees, court records state.

The roommate told Rodriguez to stop and tried to intervene, but she said he threatened to hit her if she got involved. The roommate described seeing Rodriguez throw Barreras on a tile floor, kick her belly, and stomp on her, continuing to do so after she went unconscious, court records state. Thereafter, he left the home. The roommate called 911 and tried to revive Barreras before police arrived.

Officers later found and arrested Rodriguez at his mother’s home.

In an interview with police, Rodriguez admitted he got in a fight with his girlfriend, but claimed he’d only grabbed her hair and face after she’d slapped him, court records state.

Rodriguez, 42, previously served close to 15 years in prison for a string of convictions including armed robbery and aggravated battery. He left prison in February 2019 and was serving a probation term. Records indicate that he had a job as a warehouse worker for a frozen meal delivery service. He had been jailed since his arrest.