CLEVELAND, OH — As reported by Cleveland 19 News, the jury trial for two men accused in the deadly shooting of a Bedford Heights man on I-480 has been delayed. The trial, originally scheduled to begin Thursday in front of Judge David Matia, was continued to a later date.
Michael Alvarado, 21, and Michael Roman, 30, are facing charges of aggravated murder, murder, and felonious assault in connection with the February 1 shooting that killed 19-year-old Johndiel Rivera.
According to Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley, Rivera was driving home from work around 3:50 a.m. when Roman, driving a separate vehicle with Alvarado in the passenger seat, pulled alongside near the Aurora Road exit. Prosecutors say the two men opened fire, striking Rivera’s car and causing him to lose control before crashing into the concrete median.
O’Malley said Roman and Alvarado then returned to the scene and fired additional shots into Rivera’s vehicle. Rivera, a young father, was pronounced dead after Bedford Heights Police discovered his abandoned car around 7 a.m.
Investigators later revealed that Alvarado and Rivera worked together. Police allege that Roman picked up Alvarado the night of the incident and waited near Rivera’s workplace before following him. After the shooting, Alvarado reportedly called off work for two days.
Alvarado was arrested on February 26 by Bedford Heights Police, while Roman was taken into custody two days later by the U.S. Marshals’ Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force.
A new trial date has not yet been announced.
