A man who fatally shot a bicyclist outside a West Palm Beach condominium in 2023 will spend the rest of his life in prison.
Circuit Judge Scott Suskauer on Oct. 21 sentenced Rigoberto Duval, 37, for the murder of Edmund Glover on Jan. 9, 2023, at the Presidential Golfview condominiums off Congress Avenue.
Prosecutors say Duval and his accomplice, Devontae Colbert, waited for Glover, 34, to arrive at the complex at about 12:30 a.m. As Glover rode into the development on a bicycle, the two men shot him multiple times before fleeing and leaving Glover to die.
Neither the arrest report nor testimony at the sentencing hearing said why Duval and Colbert attacked Glover.
Both suspects fled West Palm Beach after 2023 fatal shooting
Investigators obtained security-camera footage that showed Duval and Colbert return
to the complex to watch police investigate the murder.
After the shooting, both men went on the run.
Duval traveled to Panama after the courts issued a warrant for his arrest. Authorities detained him in May 2023 as he left a resort in the Caribbean nation with his girlfriend. Colbert fled to Georgia and surrendered to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office on June 2023.
A jury on Oct. 16 found Duval guilty of first-degree premeditated murder with a firearm and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. A different jury, however, was unable to reach a verdict in Colbert's trial, resulting in mistrial.
Before imposing the life sentence on Duval, Suskauer hear emotional testimonies from members of Glover's family, urging him to hand down the maximum penalty allowed by law.
Suskauer pointed to a video introduced during the trial that showed Duval and Glover celebrating shortly after the shooting.
"It was an ultimate act of depravity to be celebrating minutes after, chest-bumping like it's a touchdown in a football game," Suskauer said. "This murder, this slaughter of Mr. Glover, was an act of absolute lack of humanity and caring for my fellow man."
Murder victim's family said convicted man should suffer like they have
Moments later, Suskauer announced the sentence.
"I've said my piece. The only sentence that's appropriate is required by the court. So, life in prison," Suskauer said.
Glover's father, a military veteran, addressed the court and described the anguish his family has endured since his son's death.
"Just like you sat in that car and waiting for my son to arrive," he told Duval. "I want you to stand on a block of ice with the thermostat turned up cold in your new home. I want you to wait and feel what happens."
Valentina Palm covers immigration and breaking news for The Palm Beach Post. Email her at vpalm@pbpost.com and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @ValenPalmB. Support local journalism: Subscribe today
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Judge blasts 'chest-bumping' behavior in handing down murder sentence
