Antioch man pleads no contest to killing his girlfriend, but could avoid prison altogether

OAKLAND — A 32-year-old man pleaded no contest to killing his girlfriend by running her over during a heated argument outside of their San Leandro home, but it will be up to a judge to decide whether he serves even one more day in prison.

Kevin Jose Valasco pleaded no contest to involuntary manslaughter in the death of Adriana “Drina” Roybal, his girlfriend. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 31, where Judge Thomas Nixon will decide what sentence to impose. Valasco faces up to three years in state prison, but could be sentenced to no additional jail time.

Valasco, who is from Antioch, ran Roybal over at around 11:50 p.m. Feb. 1, 2017, outside a home on the 400 block of Ruth Court in San Leandro, according to police. He was arrested and spent several days in jail, but then posted $70,000 bail. The terms of the plea deal allow him to remain free until he is sentenced.

After the crash, Valasco — whose name is also spelled “Velasco” in court records — told police that he and Roybal had been in the middle of a lengthy argument and that he’d trashed their apartment after she broke his glasses, according to court records. He claimed she lay in the middle of the road to block his exit, according to the testimony of San Leandro police Detective Tom Rogers.

“What (Valasco) said was that he wanted to push the car forward so that she would move out of the way, because he felt that once she saw the car moving she would get out of the way of a moving car,” Rogers testified, adding that Valasco said she jumped on the hood of his red BMW as it moved forward, and he ended up pinning her underneath the car.

Rogers testified Valasco gave conflicting statements about whether he wanted to hurt Roybal. After police arrived, they discovered Roybal’s blood/alcohol level was three times the legal limit, and that Valasco had no alcohol in his system, according to court records. Their roommate described their relationship as tumultuous. Fights were common, the roommate said.

In the aftermath of the incident, a family member of Roybal started an online petition to “Demand Justice for Drina” and revoke Valasco’s bail.

“It’s not fair he gets to enjoy FREEDOM and return to his family, while he ended Drina’s and we get to live without her,” the petition says. “Just because she’s not famous or rich she gets treated like no one?”