An upcoming vehicular homicide trial for a man accused of killing a popular Des Moines cyclist while driving drunk has been delayed until May.
Jonathan Leyva Rodriguez, 32, was scheduled to go to trial on April 4 on a host of charges stemming from the Aug. 16 death of Gregary Wade Franck, a manager at Kyle's Bike Shop in Ankeny. Franck was riding on Grand Avenue as part of the organized Urban Assault Ride at about 10 a.m. when he was allegedly struck by Leyva, whose blood alcohol content after the crash registered atmore than twice the legal amount to drive.
A prosecutor and Leyva's defense attorney, Daniel Northfield, agreed before a hearing on Tuesday to move the trial's opening date to May 2. Leyva sat quietly in a green Polk County Jail uniform throughout the hearing. He has remained in the jail without bond since his arrest shortly after the crash.
Franck's parents, Gregary and Jan Franck, also sat in the courtroom on Tuesday morning.
The hearing came after Northfield earlier in March filed a motion to have key evidence kept out of the upcomingtrial: two vials of Leyva's own blood that investigators testedto determine his blood alcohol content.