San Juan man pleads not guilty in 2024 fatal cyclist crash

HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A San Juan man on Wednesday pleaded not guilty in a 2024 crash that killed a cyclist. Rogelio Guillermo Villegas Jr., 24, pleaded not guilty to manslaughter in the 92nd District Court. Villegas is accused of striking and killing cyclist Daniel Victor Codina on Nov. 13, 2024. According to a criminal complaint obtained by ValleyCentral, officers responded shortly before midnight to the intersection of South 9th Street and Highway 83 in McAllen regarding a man who was struck by a truck. During an investigation, officers learned that Villegas had just purchased a Chevrolet Silverado from a dealership and was on his way home. A detective who viewed video surveillance from the scene said he "observed that Mr. Villegas did not stop at the stop sign at the intersection and collided with Mr. Codina as he traveled across the intersection," according to the criminal complaint. Codina was pronounced dead at the hospital. An autopsy revealed that Codina died from blunt force chest trauma, according to the criminal complaint. When interviewed, Villegas said he looked both ways and did not see any traffic coming, so he proceeded through the intersection. The officer noted that Codina's bicycle did not have a white light facing forward or a red light in the back as required by the Texas Transportation Code, according to the criminal complaint. A search of Villegas' cellphone by the McAllen Police Cyber Unit found that Villegas was using his cell phone at the time of the crash. The detective said that he learned from the cell phone extraction "that Mr. Villegas was trying to link his new truck to his cell phone," according to the criminal complaint. Villegas' attorney confirmed his client pleaded not guilty, and declined to comment on the case. A pretrial hearing is scheduled for June 17, according to the 92nd District Court.