RICHMOND — A Bay Area man was sentenced to 15 years in state prison for killing a man who’d allegedly attempted to break into the defendant’s vehicle, court records show.
Roman Seabock, 22, pleaded no contest to a vehicular manslaughter charge as part of a plea deal. In return, Contra Costa prosecutors dropped a murder count and Seabock was sentenced to 15 years in December.
He is currently in Avenal State Prison, with a parole eligibility date in 2032, records show.
In April 2022, Seabock ran over Richmond resident Raul Lopez Jr., 33, killing him. Police said at the time it was a deliberate act but that the motive was still under investigation.
But Colin Cooper, the attorney who represented Seabock, said Lopez had attempted to burglarize Seabock’s vehicle that night. At the time, Seabock was working in Richmond and living in his car, and was startled awake, Cooper said.
Afterward, Seabock drove around looking for Lopez, and found him on the 800 block of Hoffman Boulevard in Richmond.
“Ultimately, he tried to scare the guy by revving his engine and it went bad,” Cooper said.
Seabock faced a prison sentence of 15 years to life if he’d been convicted of the second-degree murder charge. He was identified as the driver from video surveillance that captured the incident, police said at the time.
