MIAMI – Testimony continued in a Miami courtroom Tuesday in the trial of Kadel Piedrahita, accused of killing a cyclist on the Rickenbacker Causeway in Miami amid a longstanding feud.
Piedrahita, now 46, shot and killed Alex Palencia on Aug. 14, 2019. He’s charged with second-degree murder and aggravated assault with a firearm.
His attorneys claim self-defense.
Taking the stand again Tuesday, for cross-examination, was witness Cesar Sosa. Piedrahita is also accused of pointing his weapon and threatening Sosa moments after the fatal shots.
The state says bad blood between Piedrahita and Palencia was aired out on a Facebook Live rant in the days prior to the shooting and boiled over during that confrontation on the causeway.
The defense maintains Piedrahita did not decide to ride alongside the peloton with the purpose of killing Palencia, but rather acted in self-defense after being attacked by Palencia and other cyclists.
“I want to be clear the way you put your hands on him, you didn’t block him, you moved your hand from the back to the front. Wasn’t that a push?” attorneys asked Sosa.
He replied, “In a way yes. It’s a problem.”
The trial will resume on Wednesday afternoon.