Man accused of killing cyclist on Rickenbacker Causeway testifies as murder trial continues – WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports

MIAMI (WSVN) – It was a big day in the murder trial of the man accused of fatally shooting a bicyclist on the Rickenbacker Causeway in 2019 as the defendant took the witness stand.

7News cameras caught Kadel Piedrahita entering a Miami courtroom Thursday for the fifth day of his murder trial, again with a sling around his left arm.

Piedrahita, 46, is accused of shooting 48-year-old Alexis Palencia on the dam on August 14, 2019.

At that time, the defendant was on his motorcycle next to a group of cyclists.

Piedrahita spoke in Spanish on the witness stand Thursday, saying he had had problems with Palencia before.

“I'll tell you something: If you do anything to my son, I will not react,” he said when asked what he said to the victim on the day of the fatal drive.

In addition, the defendant said, Palencia hit him before the shooting.

“At some point he hit me,” Piedrahita said.

The suspect later became emotional. After breaking down in tears, he was handed several napkins.

Although Piedrahita has not yet gone into further detail, evidence from the crime scene was presented to the jury earlier Thursday.

Crime scene investigator Roniel Williams took a gun from an evidence bag on the witness stand

“Yes, that’s the gun I found at the crime scene,” she said.

In addition to the firearm, the jury was shown a dark backpack belonging to Piedrahita.

“Well, Ms. Williams, you said you found a backpack at the crime scene. Is that the backpack?” a prosecutor asked Williams.

“Yes, it is,” she said.

In the backpack, Williams said, there were two magazines and ammunition.

“Is that a second magazine you found in the backpack?” a prosecutor asked Williams.

“Yes, it was,” she said.

Piedrahita's attorneys argued that the defendant fired in self-defense, but the state cited crime scene investigator Howard Davis as a witness, who took photos of Piedrahita shortly after the shooting when he was arrested.

Davis showed the jury a picture of the defendant's hands. He said the pictures showed no signs of injury.

The state alleges Palencia was unarmed and the suspect had been having problems with the victim prior to the incident.

Days before the shooting, Piedrahita posted an angry video on Facebook in which he vowed in Spanish to cut Palencia in half. It remains unclear why he was so upset.

The trial is scheduled to continue on Friday at 11 a.m.

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