Mexican actor convicted of manslaughter in Miami road-rage case denied new trial

A judge on Monday declined to grant a new trial to Pablo Lyle, the Mexican actor convicted of manslaughter for fatally punching a motorist during a confrontation on a Miami roadway.

That means Lyle, 36, will now be sentenced on Feb. 3. Under Florida’s sentencing guidelines, Lyle faces between nine and 15 years in prison, although a judge can opt to give a lower sentence.

A jury in October convicted Lyle, rejecting his claim that he acted in self-defense when he ran toward and punched 63-year-old Juan Ricardo Hernandez. Hernandez fell, cracked his head on the roadway and died at the hospital four days later.

Lyle, who had starred in a series of Mexican telenovelas, had been with his family in a car driven by his brother-in-law, on their way to the airport to go back to Mexico after a vacation in Miami. Their SUV cut off Hernandez, who later got out of his car at a stoplight and approached the SUV, where he confronted the brother-in-law — pounding on the window, according to the defense.

Lyle got out of the SUV’s passenger side, but then ran at Hernandez as he walked back to his car and punched him. Prosecutors argued Hernandez wasn’t a threat and lifted his hands in the air in a sign of surrender.

Defense attorneys argued that Hernandez was still a threat, and Lyle ran toward him because he believed he might use his car or an object in his car against the family. After trial, attorneys asked for a new trial, arguing that the judge was wrong in not allowing them to say in closing arguments that Lyle feared for the safety of his terrified children.

Circuit Judge Marisa Tinkler Mendez denied the request.