VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – A man was found guilty Thursday of murdering his friend in 2019 in a DeBary storage unit.
Julio Rivera was convicted on charges of first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, following a four-day trial.
Investigators said he shot and killed his childhood friend, Roberto Ovalle, at a storage unit on Highbanks Road.
Ovalle’s girlfriend-at-the-time told investigators that Rivera shot her boyfriend in the head three times while they were sitting inside the storage unit.
Officials with the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office said Rivera was living in the storage unit.
Rivera was previously convicted of murder in New York and was wanted on an active arrest warrant for a parole violation at the time of the shooting. Investigators said they believe Rivera was hiding out in the storage unit since October 2019 to avoid arrest.
Following his arrest, detectives said Rivera admitted to the crime in a recorded jailhouse phone call.
During his sentencing, a jury recommended he be sentenced to death.
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