A jury has found man who was accused of shooting and killing a cyclist on the Rickenbacker Causeway in 2019 guilty on second-degree murder and aggravated assault charges.
The man convicted in the fatal shooting of a cyclist on the Rickenbacker Causeway back in 2019 has been sentenced to life in prison.
A sentencing hearing was held Thursday in a Miami-Dade courtroom for 46-year-old Kadel Piedrahita, who was found guilty by a jury last month of second-degree murder and aggravated assault charges in the killing of 48-year-old Alex Palencia in the Aug. 14, 2019 incident.
Judge Alberto Milian sentenced him to life in prison on the murder charge and five years on the assault charge.
"He shot an unarmed man in a public road which could have been a disaster," Milian said.
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Palencia was part of a group of cyclists that included Piedrahita's son. Piedrahita would follow the group on a motorcycle, often filming or going on Facebook Live.
Police said Piedrahita was next to the bicycle riders when there was an argument and shots were fired. Cellphone video showed the encounter on the Causeway as several men are fighting when a gunshot is fired.
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Piedrahita and Palencia had been involved in a previous argument before the day of the shooting.
At his trial, Piedrahita took the stand in his own defense, saying the shooting was self-defense as he was being attacked by Palencia and two other men.
He also claimed he opened fire because the victim also had a firearm.
But prosecutors claimed Piedrahita could have walked away from the men during the encounter. They also said he wasn't seriously injured in the encounter.
Prosecutors brought up multiple times throughout the trial how the defendant posted an angry video on social media the night before the murder about Palencia.
