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Woman accused of murder after crash that killed Vacaville police officer appears in court

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The 24-year-old woman charged with murder after a Vacaville police officer died in a crash last week appeared briefly in a Solano County courtroom Monday. Officer Matthew Bowen, 32, was killed Thursday during a traffic stop on his motorcycle near the intersection of Leisure Town Road and Orange Drive, police said. According to the California Highway Patrol, Serena Rodriguez was believed to have been driving while under the influence of drugs. She was jailed on charges of manslaughter and driving under the influence causing injury or death. A criminal complaint filed in court by the Solano County District Attorney’s Office accuses Rodriguez of murder and says she “knew and should have known” that Bowen was a peace officer performing his duties. Dozens of Vacaville police officers attended Monday’s hearing to show support for Bowen and his family. Rodriguez appeared agitated in court as the judge tried to confirm her name. She answered his questions curtly, interrupting him at times. She was assigned an attorney from the public defender’s office and is being held on bail. Arraignment was adjourned until next Monday, July 22, at 1:30 p.m. “I want to express our condolences to Officer Matthew Bowen’s wife, his two young children, his parents Mark and Becky who are here, his extended family and his police family at the Vacaville Police Department,” Solano County District Attorney Krishna A. Abrams said in court. KCRA 3 has learned that Rodriguez has a criminal history that includes charges against her in Placer and Sacramento counties in recent years. In Placer County, she was found guilty of speeding in 2021 and pleaded no contest to charges of vandalism or manufacturing a weapon while in prison in 2023. Drug charges, petty theft and breaking or removing vehicle parts were dismissed. In Sacramento County, court documents show she pleaded not guilty to false identification. A drug paraphernalia charge was dismissed. Those charges date back to March 2023. For more coverage on California’s most important stories, click here | Download our app.

The 24-year-old woman charged with murder after a Vacaville police officer died in a car crash last week appeared briefly in a Solano County courtroom Monday.

Officer Matthew Bowen, 32, was killed Thursday during a traffic stop on his motorcycle near the intersection of Leisure Town Road and Orange Drive, police said.

According to the California Highway Patrol, Serena Rodriguez was probably driving under the influence of drugs. She was jailed for manslaughter and driving under the influence of drugs causing injury or death.

A criminal complaint filed in court by the Solano County District Attorney’s Office accuses Rodriguez of murder and says she “knew and should have known” that Bowen was a peace officer acting in the line of duty.

Dozens of Vacaville police officers attended Monday’s hearing to show their support for Bowen and his family.

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Rodriguez appeared agitated in the courtroom as the judge tried to confirm her name. She answered his questions curtly, interrupting him at times. She was assigned a public defender’s attorney and is being held on bail.

The arraignment has been postponed until next Monday, July 22, at 1:30 p.m.

“I would like to express our sincere condolences to Officer Matthew Bowen’s wife, his two young children, his parents Mark and Becky who are here today, his extended family and his family who work as law enforcement with the Vacaville Police Department,” Solano County District Attorney Krishna A. Abrams said outside the court.

KCRA 3 has learned that Rodriguez has a criminal history, including charges filed against her in Placer and Sacramento counties in recent years.

She was found guilty of speeding in Placer County in 2021 and pleaded no contest to vandalism and weapons manufacturing charges while in prison in 2023.

Charges of drugs, petty theft and breaking or removing vehicle parts were dropped.

In Sacramento County, court records show she did not resist the false identity. A drug paraphernalia charge was dismissed. Those charges date back to March 2023.

You can find more reports on the most important topics from California here | Download our app.

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