A Cuyahoga County grand jury has indicted 21-year-old Michael Alvarado and 30-year-old Michael Roman for the fatal shooting of 19-year-old Johndiel Rivera on I-480 in Bedford Heights on February 1.
“These two individuals gunned down a young father who was simply trying to get home from work,” said Prosecutor Michael C. O’Malley. “Fortunately, for the State of Ohio and the public, they committed their crimes on camera.”
According to the prosecutor’s office, around 3:50 a.m., Rivera was driving home from work when a vehicle driven by Michael Roman, with Michael Alvarado in the passenger seat, approached near the Aurora Road exit and fired multiple shots at Rivera’s car before fleeing the scene.
Rivera’s vehicle struck the concrete median and came to a stop. Prosecutors say Roman and Alvarado then returned and fired additional shots at Rivera’s car.
Around 7 a.m., the Bedford Heights Police Department responded to a report of an abandoned vehicle on the highway and discovered Rivera inside with multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Further investigation by authorities revealed that Michael Alvarado worked with Rivera. Prosecutors allege that Roman picked up Alvarado and waited for Rivera to leave work before following him and carrying out the attack. Alvarado reportedly called off work for the next two days following the shooting.
On February 26, Bedford Heights police arrested Michael Alvarado. Michael Roman was later apprehended by the U.S. Marshals’ Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force.
