Rocklin road rage details revealed as attorneys argue over bail in murder case
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Judge denied bail for Blake Rakela, citing public safety.
- Grand jury indicted both father and son, bypassing preliminary hearing for trial phase.
- Prosecutor alleged Rakela used a wrench to kill Styles following road rage chase.
Attorneys arguing over whether a man accused of murder should be eligible for bail revealed details of a deadly road rage confrontation three months ago at a Rocklin intersection, where a man holding a tire iron was fatally struck with a metal wrench.
The attorneys on Monday morning were arguing over bail options for Blake Anthony Rakela, 20, who is accused of killing Jeremy Styles, 55. Placer County Deputy District Attorney David Tellman told the judge that Rakela was wielding “a very large wrench” when he attacked Styles.
“The defendant takes multiple swings with that wrench, ultimately killing him with a baseball-style swing to the head,” Tellman said in Placer Superior Court. “Anyone who would kill somebody with a wrench over a traffic incident poses a risk to the public.”
Linda Parisi, Rakela’s defense attorney, argued that Styles got out of his vehicle with a tire iron and used it to hit her client’s vehicle, threatening to injure him.
“It happened because (Styles) is the one who got out of the car first, introduced not only physical confrontation, but physical threats,” Parisi told the judge. “(Rakela) gets out of the car with the wrench because (Styles) has gotten out of his car with a tire iron.”
Criminal grand jury indictment
Last month, a criminal grand jury indicted Blake Rakela and his father, Anthony David Rakela Jr., 60, in connection with the March 15 confrontation that ended with Styles’ death.
The father and son were arrested May 15. Anthony Rakela was released on $50,000 bail, court records show. His son continues to be held at the Placer County Jail.
Blake Rakela has been charged with murder along with an enhancement that alleges he used a deadly weapon (the metal wrench) in the crime, according to the filed indictment.
Court records show Anthony Rakela faces two felony charges: assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm and assault with a deadly weapon with force likely to cause great bodily injury. The father is scheduled to appear next Monday for his arraignment in court.
The son was arraigned May 20 and pleaded not guilty to the murder charge and denied the allegations in the enhancement. The court ordered him to remain in custody ineligible for bail.
Blake Rakela returned to the courtroom Monday morning, when the prosecutor argued that Rakela should remain ineligible for bail.
The defense attorney asked the judge to set a bail amount for her client, who has no previous record of committing a violent crime and was caught in “highly unusual and stressful circumstances.”
Road rage confrontation
Styles died in the incident reported about 8:45 p.m. March 15 at the intersection of Whitney Ranch Parkway and Whitney Oaks Drive in a residential neighborhood just southwest of McCormick Park.
The Rakelas, both of Rocklin, were initially arrested shortly after the violent confrontation on suspicion of homicide and criminal conspiracy in Styles’ death, the Rocklin Police Department announced at the time in a news release.
The Police Department was investigating Styles’ death as a road rage incident, which escalated to a fight in the intersection. Officers arrived at the scene and found Styles on the ground and unresponsive, police said at the time. Police said officers began life-saving efforts until medics arrived. Styles was pronounced dead at the scene.
The arrested father and son remained in custody until their March 18 arraignment hearing, when the judge ordered them released after prosecutors informed the court they would not be filing charges against the Rakelas at that time.
After the arraignment, prosecutors said in a written statement that “additional time is needed to ensure that the charges brought, if any, are supported by the facts and the law.”
Prosecutors said their initial review of the gathered evidence included witness statements, audio recordings and video, and additional time was needed to “shed light on the physical confrontation that led to the Mr. Style’s death.” They also said their investigation would continue until all available evidence was collected and submitted to the District Attorney’s Office.
Judge ruling on bail
The grand jury indicted the Rakelas two months later. Parisi said her client, who had continued attending a welding training program in Chico, returned to Placer County after learning about the indictment and turned himself in to Rocklin police.
“I don’t think that he is a flight risk,” Parisi said about her client. “I don’t believe he is a danger to the community.”
Tellman argued that Styles lost his life over a dispute when the two vehicles that night merged on a Rocklin street. The prosecutor said Rakela “chased” and “goaded” Styles for several miles and called his father for help.
The vehicle chase continued to the intersection, where Rakela’s father waited. Tellman told the judge that Anthony Rakela, the father, drove his vehicle aggressively toward Styles before getting out of his vehicle.
Anthony Rakela tackled Styles and disarmed him when his son swung the metal wrench at Styles, according to the prosecutor.
“At that point, it’s a two-on-one fight,” Tellman said in court. “Sadly, one of the members of his family assisted him.”
The defense attorney argued this was not just a traffic incident, telling the judge that Styles tried to run her client’s vehicle off the road, and Rakela followed Styles’ vehicle to get his license plate number. Parisi also said her client and his father called 911 and remained at the scene, taking turns performing CPR on Styles until authorities arrived.
After hearing the arguments Monday, Judge Jeffrey Penney said Blake Rakela would pose a threat to the public if he were to be released from jail. The judge ordered Rakela to remain ineligible for bail.
The grand jury indictment means the criminal case against the Rakelas skips the preliminary hearing phase to determine whether there’s sufficient evidence, moving the case straight to trial. The trial has not yet been scheduled.
Penney scheduled Blake Rakela to return to court July 14. The defense attorney said his case and his father’s case can be joined then.
