A crowd packed into a Butler County Courtroom for a hearing yesterday that denied bail for a man accused of killing a teenager in a crash nearly two years ago.
Over 70 people were in attendance in support of 15-year-old Aiden Lutz, who died in a crash while he was riding his bicycle in a Butler Township neighborhood in October 2023.
Prosecutors say 36-year-old Joshua Rivera of Butler hit Lutz with his vehicle and then fled the scene.
The hearing took several hours and mostly consisted of arguments over who is responsible for the amount of days that delayed the trial.
The defense argued over 190 days should be credited to the district attorney’s office. Meanwhile the DA argued they were responsible for less than 90 days. Goldinger’s office argued the case became complicated when a candidate for the district attorney’s office sent mailers with Rivera’s image on it to voters in the county. His office says that led to all Butler County Common Pleas judges recusing themselves from the case.
Ultimately the visiting judge from Mercer County accounted for 175 to the district attorneys office.
Before taking a recess at noon, prosecutors argued that due to nature of the alleged crimes, Rivera would run from prosecution and could be a flight risk.
After more than four hours of argument the motion was denied and Rivera will remain in prison as he awaits his trial.
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