SPRINGFIELD — The lawyer for a man arraigned this week in connection with a fatal Springfield shooting says his client should not be charged with murder.
A man was shot in the back and in the eye during an altercation outside a market on Oak Grove Avenue on June 30, according to police reports.
The alleged victim, Felix Ponce Cardona, died at Baystate Medical Center July 12, but identified at least one of his alleged assailants.
A father and stepson have been arrested and charged with murder and other offenses. Erick Osario-Rivera, 32, has been charged along with Vidal Hernandez-Vazquez, 19, both of Springfield.
Both men pleaded not guilty at their arraignments Wednesday. The defense attorney for Osario-Rivera said his client argues he is innocent of the murder charge.
“My client did not shoot anyone. He should be charged with assault and battery — at best,” attorney Kedar K. Ismail said after his client’s arraignment.
According to a police narrative, witnesses told investigators Cardona got into an altercation with Osario-Rivera just before 7:30 on that June evening. Ismail said he believed the alleged victim knocked his client off his motorbike.
Witnesses said Osario-Rivera had been on a motorbike, and when the two began fighting, Osario-Rivera hit Cardona in the head with his helmet. Hernandez-Vazquez then allegedly rolled up on another motorbike and shot Cardona twice.
“As officers began to provide medical care to Felix, officers noticed a gunshot wound the size of a quarter on his back and a gunshot wound the size of a quarter in his right eye socket. AMR arrived moments later to take over with providing medical care to Felix,” Officer Prince Taylor wrote in his initial report.
The incident took place near Hennessy Park, a popular hangout.
Police found six spent 9 mm shell casings at the scene.
Witnesses said the stepfather and son sped away from the scene on their motorbikes.
Osario-Rivera was quickly apprehended, according to police. Hernandez-Vazquez, on the other hand, led police on a chase, fleeing at an estimated 80 mph and weaving in and out of traffic.
He was finally stopped at an intersection on Berkshire Avenue and was arrested.
He told investigators he had been involved in an earlier dispute with Cardona in 2023, and shots were fired then.
Ismail said video footage that captured the incident will clear his client of the murder charge. He said he believes Cardona pulled a knife during the initial skirmish. A pocket knife was recovered at the scene, police records show, along with the casings and two loaded guns.
“I think once I get that video, it’s going to be good for my client,” Ismail said.
There have been 14 homicides in the city this year.
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