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

By Orko Manna, Daniel Macht

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    SOLANO COUNTY, California (KCRA) — The 24-year-old woman accused of murder after a crash that killed a Vacaville police officer last week appeared in a Solano County courtroom briefly on Monday.

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

According to the California Highway Patrol, Serena Rodriguez was believed to be driving under the influence of drugs. She was booked into jail on charges of homicide and driving under the influence, causing injury or death.

A felony complaint that the Solano County District Attorney’s Office filed in court accuses Rodriguez of murder and says she “knew and reasonably should have known” that Bowen was a peace officer engaged in the performance of 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 verify her name. She addressed his questions curtly and cut him off at times. She was appointed an attorney from the public defender’s office and is being held on no bail.

The arraignment was continued to next Monday, July 22 at 1:30 p.m.

“I want to extend our condolences to Officer Matthew Bowen’s wife, his two young children, his parents Mark and Becky who are here, his extended family, his law enforcement family at the Vacaville police department,” Solano County District Attorney Krishna A. Abrams said outside court.

KCRA 3 has learned that Rodriguez has a criminal history that includes charges being filed against her in Placer and Sacramento counties over the last few years.

In Placer County, she was found guilty of speeding in 2021 and pleaded no contest to vandalism or manufacturing a weapon in jail in 2023.

Charges for drugs, petty theft and breaking or removing vehicle parts were dismissed.

In Sacramento County, court documents show she pleaded no contest to falsely identifying herself. A charge for drug paraphernalia was dismissed. Those charges date back to March 2023.

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