Co-conspirator
Luis Rivera
Cooperating co-defendant who testified as a prosecution witness in all four Dan Markel murder trials, giving the only firsthand account of the killing.
3,972 lines · 17 appearances · 158 mentions · 4 trials
About
Rivera is the single firsthand source for what happened inside the car on the day Dan Markel was killed, and the only witness who has placed Garcia at the trigger. Because his testimony recurs in every trial arising from the killing, the four transcripts together form the fullest available record of how one cooperating witness's account was tested, impeached, corroborated, and re-used by opposing sides over six years — including the specific sessions, prior statements, and physical corroboration each side relied on.
Trial Record (175)
GM Garcia–Magbanua Sep 26, 2019 – Oct 11, 2019
Trial Summary
Testified for the State under a cooperation agreement as the surviving participant in the July 18, 2014 killing of Dan Markel, giving the only firsthand account of the two Tallahassee trips and identifying Sigfredo Garcia as the shooter; his account and his plea terms were the central contested subject of both defense teams' cross-examinations.
Testimony (7)
Direct
Luis Rivera - Direct
Day 3 Cross Luis Rivera - Cross
Day 3 Cross Luis Rivera - Cross
Day 4 Cross Luis Rivera - Cross
Day 4 Cross Luis Rivera - Cross (Part 2)
Day 4 Redirect Luis Rivera - Redirect
Day 4 Jury Questions Luis Rivera - Juror Questions
Day 4 Mentioned (69)
Opening
Opening Statement - Georgia Cappleman
Day 1 Opening Opening Statement - Saam Zangeneh
Day 1 Opening Opening Statement - Tara Kawass Cooperating co-defendant; Kawass extensively attacked his credibility, noting his Latin Kings membership, multiple conflicting statements, unrecorded first proffer, and sweetheart plea deal
Day 1 Procedural Yao Daubert Ruling and Rivera-Attorney Depositions Cooperating codefendant whose upcoming testimony and the conduct of his attorneys during his proffer were the focus of the second discovery dispute.
Day 2 Direct Craig Isom - Direct
Day 2 Procedural Rivera-Attorney Deposition Logistics
Day 2 Cross Craig Isom - Cross (Part 2) Named renter on Hybrid Auto Rental contract; phone tracking discussed
Day 2 Cross Craig Isom - Cross
Day 2 Redirect Craig Isom - Redirect Circumstances of his unrecorded initial proffer and subsequent recorded interviews discussed during the rehabilitation portion of redirect.
Day 2 Recross Craig Isom - Recross
Day 2 Recross Craig Isom - Recross
Day 2 Cross Wendi Adelson - Cross
Day 2 Procedural Wendi Adelson Immunity Instruction and End-of-Day Logistics
Day 2 Procedural Rivera-Attorney Privilege and Brannon Sequestration Issues
Day 3 Cross Thomas Balboni - Cross
Day 3 Cross Christopher Corbitt - Cross Zangeneh raised the possibility that Rivera was in possession of García's phone at 9:36 a.m., and Corbitt confirmed Rivera had disclosed using multiple phones during cooperation; neither could be ruled out from cell records alone.
Day 3 Cross Christopher Corbitt - Cross Mentioned as an example of a possible direct Rivera–Adelson connection outside available phone records
Day 3 Procedural Rivera Hearsay and Disclosure Motions
Day 3 Procedural Voice-Identification Exhibit Ruling Central subject of the motion — identified Magbanua's voice on recordings in the summary exhibits; Kawass argues he lacks foundational knowledge having testified he never spoke to Magbanua by phone; still on the witness stand during this hearing
Day 4 Procedural Rivera Cross-Examination Limits and Recollection Procedure
Day 4 Procedural Rivera Impeachment, Cocaine Evidence, and Severance Rulings
Day 4 Cross Jonathan Grossman - Cross
Day 4 Direct Shoddrick Nobles - Direct
Day 4 Cross Shoddrick Nobles - Cross Discussed throughout as the armed, aggressive figure in the motel room; Zangeneh raised whether Rivera was Nobles's drug supplier and established that Rivera — not Garcia — had a gun during the encounter
Day 4 Cross Waldo Mesa Nunez - Cross Counsel read Rivera's name, a June 4, 2014 date and time, and matching vehicle fields from Exhibit 87; this proceeding did not fully establish the document type or who drove the Comfort rental.
Day 4 Direct Daren Schwartz - Direct
Day 4 Cross Daren Schwartz - Cross Confirmed to have rented the Prius alone; Schwartz did not recall prior interactions with him
Day 4 Procedural Evidentiary Rulings and Jury-Instruction Conference Rivera's testimony is the subject of the principal instruction debate: Zangeneh argued Rivera's own testimony pointed to someone in the Adelson orbit — not Garcia — as the source of payment, complicating whether Garcia fit the 'hired by a defendant' principal variant.
Day 5 Cross Yindra Velazquez Mascaro - Cross
Day 5 Direct Christopher Corbitt - Direct (Recall, Part 2)
Day 5 Cross Christopher Corbitt - Cross
Day 5 Cross Christopher Corbitt - Cross
Day 5 Redirect Christopher Corbitt - Redirect Discussed re: analytical residence address (1505 NE 135th St. vs. Normandy Drive), FBI wiretap cross-reference, July 19 movements toward Stephanie Carmona's residence, and old phone number comparison.
Day 6 Procedural Rivera Phone-Number Relevance Ruling
Day 6 Redirect Christopher Corbitt - Redirect (Recall, Part 2)
Day 6 Cross Mary Hull - Cross
Day 6 Cross Oscar Jimenez Jr. - Cross
Day 6 Procedural Gang-Expert, Wiretap, and Dolce Vita Rulings Judge warned Rivera could be recalled to testify about other criminal activity with Garcia if De La Cruz gives a Latin Kings exclusivity opinion
Day 6 Cross Christopher Corbitt - Cross Discussed in connection with the residence Corbitt associated with him and the fact that Jessica Rodriguez was not an intercept target; no specific unrecorded communication was established.
Day 7 Direct Patrick Sanford - Direct
Day 7 Procedural Garcia FBI Interview Proffer
Day 7 Direct Patrick Sanford - Direct (Part 4)
Day 7 Cross Patrick Sanford - Cross
Day 7 Cross Patrick Sanford - Cross (Part 2)
Day 7 Cross Patrick Sanford - Cross
Day 8 Redirect Patrick Sanford - Redirect
Day 8 Procedural Juror Evidence Questions and Lunch Recess
Day 8 Cross Craig Isom - Cross September 30, 2016 meeting referenced by DeCoste but blocked as outside scope
Day 8 Procedural State Rests and Judgments of Acquittal
Day 8 Direct Stephen Downing - Direct
Day 8 Cross Stephen Downing - Cross The driver Downing stopped in June 2014; Downing confirmed he has no memory of Rivera and cannot picture him.
Day 8 Redirect Stephen Downing - Redirect
Day 8 Direct John Sawicki - Direct
Day 8 Redirect John Sawicki - Redirect Zangeneh established that Sawicki had access to none of Rivera's phones or phone numbers when concluding there was no detectable connection between Adelson and Rivera; Rivera was linked to multiple devices not in Sawicki's dataset.
Day 8 Direct Michael Dillmore - Direct Name appeared in message 307 on Garcia's phone dated May 14, 2016; DeCoste suggested Rivera was in federal prison during the May 2016 period when the 'T' contact communications occurred, but Dillmore could not confirm
Day 8 Direct Christopher Corbitt - Direct Referenced for testimony that Garcia pointed out Wendi near Trescott. Corbitt confirmed no immediately-close tower hit but did not say cell data disproved the sighting.
Day 8 Direct Jason Newlin - Direct Central subject of testimony — his cooperation timeline, what he disclosed in August versus September 2016 proffers, and his plea deal sequence are the focus of this examination
Day 8 Cross Jason Newlin - Cross
Day 8 Cross Jason Newlin - Cross
Day 8 Redirect Jason Newlin - Redirect
Day 8 Procedural Rivera Apple Subscriber Record Ruling
Day 8 Procedural Bennett Hearsay, Corbitt Sequestration, and Magbanua Testimony
Day 9 Direct Katherine Magbanua - Direct
Day 9 Cross Katherine Magbanua - Cross
Day 9 Cross Katherine Magbanua - Cross
Day 9 Procedural Rebuttal Waived and Renewed Judgments of Acquittal
Day 9 Closing Closing Argument - Georgia Cappleman
Day 10 Closing Closing Argument - Saam Zangeneh
Day 10 Rebuttal Rebuttal Closing - Georgia Cappleman
Day 10 KM Magbanua Retrial May 18, 2022 – May 27, 2022
Trial Summary
Testified as the State's cooperating codefendant in the Magbanua retrial, giving the only firsthand account placing Magbanua in the murder-for-hire arrangement, and was cross-examined across two trial days on his plea terms, gang history, and shifting prior statements.
Testimony (4)
Direct
Luis Rivera - Direct
Day 2 Cross Luis Rivera - Cross (Part 1)
Day 2 Cross Luis Rivera - Cross (Part 2)
Day 3 Redirect Luis Rivera - Redirect
Day 3 Mentioned (48)
Opening
Opening Statement - Sarah Kathryn Dugan
Day 1 Opening Opening Statement - Tara Kawass
Day 1 Direct Craig Isom - Direct
Day 1 Cross Craig Isom - Cross
Day 1 Redirect Craig Isom - Redirect
Day 1 Procedural End-of-Day Recess — Wendi Adelson Testimony Ruling and Day-Two Scheduling Confirmed by prosecution to be expected to testify on the afternoon of Day 2.
Day 1 Procedural Day 2 Opening — Witness Scheduling and Late-Notice Dispute Over Lacasse
Day 2 Procedural Defense table request for Rivera cross-examination materials
Day 2 Cross Wendi Adelson - Cross
Day 2 Procedural Afternoon recess before Rivera cross-examination
Day 2 Procedural End-of-Day — Co-Conspirator Hearsay Dispute and Rivera Cross Logistics His post-murder testimony — Magbanua's 'I know' acknowledgment and next-day money delivery — is the subject of the co-conspirator hearsay dispute; his inability to read is also addressed in the transcript protocol discussion.
Day 2 Procedural Rivera Cross-Examination: Impeachment Clip and Transcript Protocol
Day 3 Procedural Admissibility ruling — co-conspirator statements and murder-for-hire conspiracy timeline
Day 3 Direct Waldo Mesa Nunez - Direct
Day 3 Procedural Mid-Morning Recess and Pre-Testimony Logistics Confirmed by prosecution as not needed for further testimony that day; returned to custody.
Day 3 Direct Christopher Corbitt - Direct
Day 3 Direct Christopher Corbitt - Direct (Continued)
Day 3 Procedural OJP — Proffer on 'Tato' iCloud Contact / Richardson Hearing Argument
Day 3 Direct Christopher Corbitt - Direct (Continued) Corbitt understood “Tato” as Rivera's nickname but said 934 was not Rivera's working number; actual July 19 communication used the separate 570 number.
Day 3 Procedural Apple Records Discovery Dispute — Phone Number Attribution Ruling
Day 4 Cross Christopher Corbitt - Cross
Day 4 Redirect Christopher Corbitt - Redirect
Day 4 Direct Yindra Velazquez Mascaro - Direct
Day 4 Cross Yindra Velazquez Mascaro - Cross
Day 4 Direct Jessica Rodriguez - Direct
Day 5 Redirect Jessica Rodriguez - Redirect
Day 5 Direct Mary Hull - Direct
Day 5 Direct Patrick Sanford - Direct (Part 1)
Day 5 Direct Patrick Sanford - Direct (Part 3)
Day 6 Procedural Defense Raises Richardson Issue Over Trooper Downing's Changed Account of Rivera Traffic Stop
Day 6 Cross Patrick Sanford - Cross
Day 6 Cross Patrick Sanford - Cross (Continued)
Day 6 Procedural Defense case opening logistics and ruling on Rodriguez impeachment recording
Day 7 Direct Sherry Bennett - Direct Cooperating hitman whose July 19 payment date testimony is directly contradicted by Rodriguez's prior statement to Bennett; was cooperating with investigators the same day Bennett called Rodriguez
Day 7 Direct Michael Dillmore - Direct
Day 7 Direct Craig Isom - Direct (Recalled by Defense)
Day 7 Cross Craig Isom - Cross
Day 7 Redirect Craig Isom - Redirect His September 30 proffer account — that Garcia said Wendi hired Katie — is the subject of DeCoste's final question to Isom.
Day 7 Cross Jason Newlin - Cross
Day 7 Redirect Jason Newlin - Redirect
Day 7 Direct Katherine Magbanua - Direct
Day 7 Charge Conference Charge Conference Named in modified solicitation count instruction; identified by defense as target of reputation-for-dishonesty weighing factor
Day 7 Cross Katherine Magbanua - Cross
Day 7 Redirect Katherine Magbanua - Redirect
Day 7 Jury Instruction Jury Instructions (Final)
Day 8 Closing Closing Argument - Georgia Cappleman
Day 8 Closing Closing Argument - Tara Kawass
Day 8 Rebuttal Rebuttal Closing - Georgia Cappleman Cooperating codefendant; Cappleman defends his credibility by asking why she would have him fabricate a story implicating Magbanua rather than Charlie Adelson if the prosecution were manufacturing evidence
Day 8 CA Charlie Adelson Oct 26, 2023 – Nov 6, 2023
Trial Summary
Testified for the State as a cooperating participant in the killing of Dan Markel, describing on Day 2 how he drove Sigfredo Garcia to Tallahassee for a paid job arranged through Katherine Magbanua, then faced cross-examination and redirect on Day 3.
Testimony (4)
Procedural
Proffer of Luis Rivera — Latin Kings Gang Affiliation
Day 2 Direct Luis Rivera - Direct
Day 2 Cross Luis Rivera - Cross
Day 3 Redirect Luis Rivera - Redirect
Day 3 Mentioned (24)
Opening
Opening Statement - Sarah Kathryn Dugan
Day 1 Opening Opening Statement - Dan Rashbaum
Day 1 Direct Patrick Sanford - Direct
Day 1 Procedural Proffer of Luis Rivera — Latin Kings Gang Affiliation
Day 2 Procedural End-of-Day Recess — Luis Rivera Cross Deferred to Monday
Day 2 Procedural Court Opens — Rivera Recalled to Stand
Day 3 Direct Katherine Magbanua - Direct
Day 3 Direct Mary Hull - Direct Hitman; chronic overdraft pattern ceased for ~4 months post-murder, consistent with outside cash source
Day 3 Cross Mary Hull - Cross
Day 3 Redirect Mary Hull - Redirect
Day 3 Direct Christopher Corbitt - Direct
Day 3 Cross Christopher Corbitt - Cross (Continued)
Day 4 Cross Oscar Jimenez Jr. - Cross
Day 4 Direct Patrick Sanford - Direct (Recall)
Day 4 Cross Patrick Sanford - Cross (Recall) Discussed in context of burner phone use during the murder.
Day 5 Procedural Defense Motion for Judgment of Acquittal — Denied on All Counts
Day 5 Direct Charlie Adelson - Direct (Part 3)
Day 6 Direct Charlie Adelson - Direct (Part 5)
Day 6 Cross Charlie Adelson - Cross
Day 7 Redirect Charlie Adelson - Redirect
Day 7 Charge Conference Charge Conference — Jury Instructions Finalized for All Three Counts
Day 7 Jury Instruction Final Jury Instructions — Three Counts of Murder-for-Hire Conspiracy
Day 8 Closing Closing Argument - Georgia Cappleman
Day 8 Closing Closing Argument - Dan Rashbaum
Day 8 DA Donna Adelson Aug 22, 2025 – Sep 4, 2025
Trial Summary
Testified on the trial's first day as a cooperating codefendant who drove the rented Prius the day Dan Markel was shot, describing a job routed to him through Sigfredo Garcia and Katherine Magbanua, and confirming on cross that he marked Donna and Harvey Adelson with X's as people he did not know to be involved.
Testimony (2)
Mentioned (17)
Opening
Opening Statement - Sarah Kathryn Dugan
Day 1 Opening Opening Statement - Jackie L. Fulford
Day 1 Direct Craig Isom - Direct (Continued)
Day 1 Procedural OJP — Exhibit 60 Foundation Clarification
Day 1 Direct Robert Adelson - Direct
Day 2 Direct June Umchinda - Direct
Day 3 Cross June Umchinda - Cross
Day 3 Direct Mary Hull - Direct
Day 3 Direct Katherine Magbanua - Direct
Day 3 Cross Katherine Magbanua - Cross
Day 3 Direct Christopher Corbitt - Direct
Day 3 Direct Christopher Corbitt - Direct (Continued)
Day 4 Cross Oscar Jimenez Jr. - Cross
Day 4 Direct Patrick Sanford - Direct (Part 3)
Day 6 Procedural Defense Motion for Judgment of Acquittal on Counts 1 and 3
Day 7 Closing Closing Argument - Georgia Cappleman
Day 9 Closing Closing Argument - Jackie L. Fulford
Day 9