A Fort Myers man has reversed his plea less than a year after his arrest connected to a deadly hit-and-run.
Carlos Antunez Riva, 34, on May 26 pleaded no contest to charges of leaving the scene of a crash involving death and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence.
Lee Circuit Judge Andrew Marcus adjudicated Antunez Riva guilty and sentenced him to nine years in prison, followed by four years of probation.
Fort Myers Police arrested Carlos Antunez Riva after an extensive investigation into a June 30 crash on Winkler Avenue that resulted in the death of 19-year-old Michael Richard Austin.
The victim, of Miromar Lakes, was riding his motorcycle, according to court documents.
The arrest affidavits said that as bystanders approached to help Austin, they reported he had no pulse and was not moving.
When Fort Myers Police officers responded, they found a BMW sedan with heavy damage near the Village Creek Apartments. Officers ran the license plate and found it was registered to Antunez Riva.
According to the arrest affidavit, a witness told authorities that Austin was passing traffic but was not driving recklessly when the car driven by Antunez Riva made a left turn without yielding and hit Austin.
Authorities estimated Austin was traveling between 35 mph and 40 mph through the 30 mph zone.
About six hours after the crash, authorities went to Antunez Riva’s home and asked if he would be willing to talk. Antunez Riva declined without the presence of an attorney.
Two days after the crash, on July 2, Antunez Riva texted his boss with photographs of the crash, saying that he needed to take the day off to meet with his attorney. On July 3, authorities seized Antunez Riva’s cellphone as evidence.
That same day, authorities said, about 8:20 a.m. Antunez Riva “remotely wiped” all of the data off the phone, preventing police from downloading the text message history.
The morning of July 11, authorities again responded to Antunez Riva’s home, attempting to collect a buccal swab.
After Lee County sheriff’s deputies and Fort Myers Police officers knocked on the front door, a woman answered and said, “OK,” before she closed the door. Moments later, authorities standing behind the home said they captured Antunez Riva as he attempted to flee on foot.
Antunez Riva eventually complied with the buccal swab.
Authorities identified Antunez Riva as the driver through video, photographs, DNA evidence and cellphone data.
Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@usatodayco.com or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Threads @tomasfrobeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran, Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews and Bluesky @tomasfrodriguez.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Fort Myers man gets nine years in prison after hit-and-run crash killed motorcyclist
Reporting by Tomas Rodriguez, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Naples Daily News
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