MIAMI – During his testimony Thursday in Miami-Dade County court, Kadel Piedrahita said he shot a 48-year-old father of three along The Rickenbacker Causeway over five years ago — but he did not intend to kill him.
Piedrahita, who was in tears in the courtroom, fatally shot Alex Palencia and threatened Cesar Sosa on Aug. 14, 2019, along the causeway’s bridge, according to prosecutors.
“I was in fear for my life and the life of my son,” Pedrahita said in Spanish. He also added, “I had been attacked by Alexis and two more people, and during the incident Alexis was armed.”
During opening statements, Assistant State Attorney Conor Soper told jurors Palencia and Sosa were not armed. Assistant Public Defender Yanelis Zamora, who represents Piedrahita, said Sosa handed Palencia a firearm during a dispute.
On Wednesday, Gustavo Londoño who belonged to the “Don Pan Riders” — the group of cyclists Palencia, Sosa, and Piedrahita’s son were a part of — testified he was feet away from the argument and shooting and the only gun he saw was the one Piedrahita was carrying.
Jurors watched some of the video evidence. On Thursday, four more witnesses testified about the police investigation. Jurors saw the autopsy photos, the backpack where Piedrahita was carrying his gun and the actual firearm he admitted to firing.
Before the shooting, Piedrahita was riding a motorcycle while filming the group of cyclists.
“He has one hand on the bike and one hand on the selfie stick recording on Facebook Live,” Zamora told jurors during her opening statement.
Zamora said Palencia “put his hands” on Piedrahita causing him to lose his balance. Soper said Piedrahita kicked Palencia from his motorcycle. Zamora and Soper agreed the two got into a scuffle.
“Two other cyclists, actually, jumped into the fight as well. At one point, it’s actually three against one. Mr. Piedrahita is hit in the head with something hard. He is getting punched in the face with fists multiple times,” Zamora said.
Soper said Piedrahita commanded his son to get him his gun.
“He takes out his gun to show force not to use force,” Zamora said.
Witnesses said Pedrahita shot Palencia in the abdomen.
“This case was captured on several different cameras,” Soper said. “It was captured on cell phone cameras from witnesses. It was captured on GoPro cameras from the bicyclists... and part of it was even captured on the defendant’s own video.”
Piedrahita is on trial for second-degree murder and aggravated assault with a firearm.