Guilty verdict in fatal shooting of Rickenbacker cyclist; defendant faces life in prison | Key Biscayne

It didn't take long for jurors to find 46-year-old Kadel Piedrahita guilty early Monday evening of shooting a cyclist on the Rickenbacker Causeway in 2019.

A sentencing date will be set within two months. He faces a life sentence in prison.

Spanish version

The charges against Piedrahita stem from the killing of 48-year-old Alexis Palencia during the August 14, 2019 incident and resulted in a charge of premeditated murder and aggravated assault against another victim.

The defendant was riding his motorcycle on the dam before the incident escalated.

Piedrahita showed little emotion when the clerk read the verdict in the 11th Court in Miami.

Prosecutor Katherine Fernandez Rundle issued a statement after the verdict, saying:

“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 presenting the important elements of the case that drove Piedrahita to 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.”

Piedrahita testified in his defense last week, saying he fired in self-defense because he was attacked by Palencia and two other men because his motorcycle broke down. He claimed he was hit in the back by Palencia.

Video footage shows what appears to have been an altercation on the causeway, and another video shows a group of cyclists on the side of the road. Piedrahita claimed he was attacked by three cyclists and feared for his life.

However, the prosecution argued that Piedrahita could have avoided the altercation by simply driving away. They claimed there were no visible injuries, but the defendant insisted he was injured.

On Thursday, crime scene investigator Roniel Williams displayed the gun he found at the scene and the backpack belonging to Piedrahita, who prosecutors said shot Palencia once in the stomach.

The jury returned its verdict around 6pm on Monday evening, hours after hearing closing arguments. Deliberations began at 2:30pm, and the jury later requested to see some documents and footage at 5:30pm. Thirty minutes later, they informed the court that a verdict had been reached.

Piedrahata was charged not only with the use of a firearm resulting in death, but also with aggravated assault with a firearm against a second cyclist named Cesar Sosa, who escaped without serious injuries.

Palencia was reportedly part of a group of cyclists that included Piedrahita's son. Piedrahita followed the group on a motorcycle and often filmed them.

Prosecutors alleged that Piedrahita's angry state of mind was expressed in a Facebook livestream posted before the shooting.

“Kadel Piedrahita threatened, plotted and then executed Alexis Palencia,” Singh told jurors in his closing argument. “…The defendant killed Alex Palencia. But here in court, the defendant killed him again by taking the stand and ruining his reputation.”

However, defense attorney Elsa Fernandez argued that Palencia was the attacker after seeing Piedrahita's livestream video.

“If you want to kill Alexis Palencia, you don’t announce it on Facebook two days in advance,” she said.