Man found guilty of murder in 2019 killing of cyclist on Rickenbacker Causeway

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.

Jurors delivered their verdict Monday evening, hours after they heard closing arguments and began deliberations in the trial of Kadel Piedrahita.

The charges against Piedrahita stem from the killing of 48-year-old Alex Palencia during the Aug. 14, 2019 incident.

The 46-year-old Piedrahita did not show much emotion as the clerk read the verdict. None of his family was present inside the courtroom.

Piedrahita took the stand in his own defense last week, saying the shooting was self-defense as he was being attacked by Palencia and two other men.

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.

“Not even redness. Not even anything of anything from anyone touching him or grabbing him. But the defendant wants you to believe he was justified in shooting Alexis Palencia,” said Assistant State Attorney Arvind Singh.

Piedrahita has always claimed he shot because the victim also had a firearm.  

“You want the members of this jury to believe that Alexis Palencia had a gun?” asked Singh during the first week of trial.  

“I don’t want that. That’s what happened,” replied the defendant.

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.

Piedrahita and Palencia had been involved in a previous argument before the day of the shooting.

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.

Defense attorneys deny the killing was planned.

During closing arguments, Elsa Fernandez, a defense attorney representing Piedrahita stated, “he is either a mastermind or what are we talking about here? A person looking to kill Alexis Palencia does not advertise it 2 days before on Facebook.”

Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle applauded prosecutors following the verdict.

"The 2019 fatal shooting of bicyclist Alexis Palencia on the Rickenbacker Causeway appalled our entire community and particularly shocked members of Miami-Dade’s tight-knit bicycling community. Despite Kadel Piedrahita’s claim that he shot in self-defense, the jury decided otherwise," she said in a statement in part.

"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 loved family member," she said.

Defense attorneys have not commented after the verdict.

A sentencing date has not been scheduled.