Julio Cesar Rivera shot and killed Robert Miguel Ovalle at this storage facility on Dec. 8, 2019, authorities said. (Mug shot: Volusia County Sheriff’s Office; screenshot of storage facility: WFTV)
A convicted murderer, living in his friend’s drug-filled storage unit while facing a parole violation, shot and killed the friend after feeling disrespected, say prosecutors in Volusia County, Florida.
Jurors convicted the defendant, Julio Cesar Rivera, 52, on Thursday of first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
The state will ask for the death sentence in a penalty phase to begin Tuesday.
Authorities said he lived in a storage unit rented by his childhood friend, Robert Miguel Ovalle, 40.
At the time of the Dec. 8, 2019, shooting, Rivera was facing a parole violation after spending 26 years in prison for killing a shopkeeper in New York state, according to The Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Prosecutors reportedly claimed at trial that Ovalle, who dealt drugs, kept marijuana and heroin in the unit. He reportedly let Rivera stay there, but the defendant felt he was taking a risk by having to sleep in the unit.
“Eventually, Rivera, who felt disrespected by his friend, pulled out a gun and shot Ovalle in the back of the head,” wrote prosecutors with the State’s Attorney’s Office for the 7th Circuit.
Ovalle’s girlfriend witnessed the shooting.
“The girlfriend said she immediately fled the storage unit, but Rivera followed her to her vehicle and accompanied her back to the victim’s home, saying he would protect her and her children,” deputies wrote at the time. “She took Rivera’s gun from him and went to gather her children. Rivera left and went back to the storage unit; the girlfriend then started running toward a friend’s home. She was intercepted by responding deputies, and when Rivera arrived back at 333 E. Highbanks [the storage unit address], he was met by deputies responding to the homicide scene.”
The defense reportedly pointed the finger at the girlfriend, confronting her with a Facebook post from September 2019 (before the shooting) in which she said she fatally shot Ovalle. She denied during testimony to shooting her boyfriend.
Rivera said in a recorded jailhouse phone call that he had snapped and killed Ovalle, according to prosecutors.
He was convicted of first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Prosecutors will seek the death sentence in a penalty phase to begin Tuesday.
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