Co-conspirator
Luis Rivera
Cooperating codefendant hitman who drove the getaway vehicle during the Markel murder and testified as the prosecution's only eyewitness to the killing across all three trials.
2,056 lines · 10 appearances · 80 mentions · 3 trials
About
Rivera is the only active participant in the Markel murder who provided sworn first-person testimony about both Tallahassee trips, the mechanics of the killing, and the payment structure, doing so across all three trial proceedings. His account is the connective tissue linking the physical evidence — the Prius, the firearm, the stapled cash — to the conspiracy chain through Magbanua. The archive record of his testimony across three trials, together with the shifting cross-examination emphasis and the deposition deployment in trial 3, documents how the same cooperating witness account functioned differently depending on which defendant was on trial and which theory of liability the defense was contesting.
Trial Record (90)
KM Magbanua Retrial May 18, 2022 – May 27, 2022
Trial Summary
Called by the prosecution as its central cooperating eyewitness, Rivera testified to the full operational account of the murder-for-hire — the two Tallahassee trips, Garcia's post-murder call to Magbanua, and the morning-after cash delivery — then endured two days of cross-examination focused on his deal terms, four unrecorded pre-cooperation sessions, prior inconsistent statements, and the absence of cell-phone corroboration for his account of the money drop.
Appearances (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 (43)
Opening
Opening Statement - Tara Kawass
Day 1 Cross Craig Isom - Cross
Day 1 Redirect Craig Isom - Redirect Credibility rehabilitation: consistent statements always naming Magbanua; uncharged at Coleman Prison first statement; supplied money-drop morning timing as new investigative lead independently corroborated by Corbitt; characterized as having limited reading ability undermining fabrication theory.
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 Cross Waldo Mesa Nunez - Cross
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 Procedural OJP — Proffer on 'Tato' iCloud Contact / Richardson Hearing Argument
Day 3 Direct Christopher Corbitt - Direct (Continued) Subject of the 'Tato' contact saved in Magbanua's phone; Magbanua attempted to call his number during both Tallahassee trips, though neither call connected
Day 3 Procedural Apple Records Discovery Dispute — Phone Number Attribution Ruling
Day 4 Redirect Christopher Corbitt - Redirect July 19 movements toward Garcia's residence; 934 Tato and 570 working numbers; call flurry timeline
Day 4 Direct Yindra Velazquez Mascaro - Direct Known to Mascaro from childhood; knew Magbanua through Garcia; described as like brothers with Garcia; prior to arrests, Mascaro did not know Rivera was in a gang
Day 4 Cross Jessica Rodriguez - Cross
Day 5 Redirect Jessica Rodriguez - Redirect
Day 5 Direct Mary Hull - Direct
Day 5 Direct Patrick Sanford - Direct (Part 1) Cooperating codefendant; subject of RICO wiretap; 30-40 hours of cooperation sessions; proffer details independently corroborated; assisted in gun search road trips
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 Redirect Patrick Sanford - Redirect
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 Referenced indirectly as the contact 'Tata' (T-A-T-O) in Garcia's extracted phone messages, May 11–16, 2016
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 Direct Jason Newlin - Direct Cooperating codefendant; his proffer timeline, discovery access, media exposure, and statement evolution are the central subject of this examination
Day 7 Direct Jason Newlin - Direct (Continued) Cooperating codefendant whose credibility is the focus of examination; owl-versus-lion social media inconsistency established; multiple trial-preparation sessions with Newlin documented; described as 'street smart' by Newlin.
Day 7 Cross Jason Newlin - Cross Central subject of all rehabilitation questions — coaching, deal terms, and consistency of his cooperation statements.
Day 7 Redirect Jason Newlin - Redirect
Day 7 Direct Katherine Magbanua - Direct Discussed as Garcia's associate whose girlfriend Magbanua befriended; his RICO arrest in 2015 and October 4 2016 cooperation that revealed the basis for her arrest. She denied he called her first on July 19 2014.
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 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
Called as the prosecution's direct eyewitness to the Markel killing, Rivera testified from jail under a cooperation agreement that he drove the getaway vehicle while Sigfredo Garcia shot Dan Markel, that the murder contract came through Katherine Magbanua, and that Magbanua responded "I know" before Garcia could say anything when he called her immediately after the shooting.
Appearances (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 (20)
Opening
Opening Statement - Sarah Kathryn Dugan Cooperating codefendant; described as getaway driver and second hitman; previewed as corroborated witness who described the June scouting trip, murder mechanics, and day-after cash payment
Day 1 Direct Patrick Sanford - Direct identified as the person who rented the suspect green Prius from Save Gas on July 15 2014; rental returned three days late after the murder
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 Financial pattern discussed: temporary post-murder spike then return to prior overdraft behavior, contrasted with Magbanua's sustained inflow
Day 3 Redirect Mary Hull - Redirect
Day 3 Cross Oscar Jimenez Jr. - Cross Referenced as the incarcerated person Jimenez claimed to be the brother of during the bump, establishing the cover story's connection to the hitman
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 4) Named by Charlie to Harvey as the person Magbanua identified as having shot Dan Markel; Charlie relays this in the Matsuri parking lot
Day 6 Direct Charlie Adelson - Direct (Part 5)
Day 6 Redirect Charlie Adelson - Redirect His prior courtroom testimony — that he just wanted to rob the victim but Garcia/Katie insisted on murder — is cited by Rashbaum to explain why extorters would not simply rob Charlie instead of accepting installment payments
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 - Dan Rashbaum
Day 8 DA Donna Adelson Aug 22, 2025 – Sep 4, 2025
Trial Summary
Rivera, serving a 19-year sentence under a second-degree murder plea, testified as the prosecution's cooperating codefendant hitman, providing first-person accounts of the June 2014 reconnaissance trip and the July 18, 2014 murder of Dan Markel, the post-murder payment in stapled cash bundles, and his understanding that the contract originated with Charlie Adelson — channeled through Katherine Magbanua.
Appearances (2)
Mentioned (17)
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 hitman referenced in connection with stapled cash payment method
Day 3 Cross June Umchinda - Cross
Day 3 Direct Mary Hull - Direct Banking pattern reversed after murder; purchased motorcycle July 28 and car July 31, 2014; no overdrafts for four months post-murder
Day 3 Direct Katherine Magbanua - Direct Second hitman; Garcia's friend known to Magbanua for over a decade; murder payment delivered to his residence; name mentioned by Charlie at bump meeting
Day 3 Cross Katherine Magbanua - Cross
Day 3 Direct Christopher Corbitt - Direct (Continued)
Day 4 Cross Christopher Corbitt - Cross frequency reports
Day 4 Direct Patrick Sanford - Direct (Part 1)
Day 4 Direct Patrick Sanford - Direct (Part 2) Identified by Sanford as 'Tato' in the bump letter; housed in Broward County — giving the undercover's Broward references particular significance to Magbanua and Garcia who would have known this
Day 5 Redirect Christopher Corbitt - Redirect (Recall) One of the hitmen; his arrest along with Garcia is the subject of the Sun Sentinel article
Day 6 Cross Patrick Sanford - Cross
Day 6 Procedural Defense Motion for Judgment of Acquittal on Counts 1 and 3
Day 7 Closing Closing Argument - Jackie L. Fulford
Day 9