Jury finds man accused of killing cyclist on Rickenbacker Causeway in 2019 guilty on all counts – WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports

MIAMI (WSVN) – A jury on Monday found a 46-year-old man accused of shooting a bicyclist on the Rickenbacker Causeway in 2019 guilty on all counts.

Kadel Piedrahita is accused of shooting 48-year-old Alexis Palencia on the dam on August 14, 2019.

The jury deliberated for several hours on Monday before making its decision.

After reviewing several videos shown in court, the jury found Piedrahita guilty of first-degree murder and aggravated assault with a firearm.

“We, the jury, come to the following conclusion: The defendant is guilty of premeditated murder. The defendant is guilty of aggravated assault with a firearm,” said the foreman of the jury.

Prosecutors hailed the jury's decision as a major victory, saying they had been working on their decision for five years.

On Monday, the prosecution and defense presented their closing arguments to the jury.

Piedrahita's lawyers argued during the trial that he was defending himself when he shot Palencia. They said there had been a rift between Piedrahita and Palencia for a year before the killing.

It remains unclear where the hostility came from.

But the jury rejected the defense's argument on Monday evening when it found Piedrahita guilty.

On Monday evening, Miami-Dade District Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle released a statement on the guilty verdict:

The fatal shooting of cyclist Alexis Palencia on the Rickenbacker Causeway in 2019 horrified our entire community and especially shocked members of Miami-Dade's tight-knit cycling community. Despite Kadel Piedrahita's claim that he fired in self-defense, the jury decided otherwise. They weighed all the evidence, heard all the witness testimony, and decided that Piedrahita was indeed guilty of premeditated murder. I applaud the talented prosecution team of Assistant District Attorneys Arvind Singh and Conor Soper for effectively distilling the important case elements that led Piedrahita to commit this senseless act of violence. I hope that the family of Alexis Palencia has gained some sense of justice with this verdict, knowing that nothing can replace the senseless loss of a beloved family member.

A date for the verdict has not yet been set.

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