Atlanta, GA – A man charged with murder in the death of a Georgia state trooper during a vehicular pursuit was denied bond by a judge on Sunday.
Trooper Jimmy Cenescar lost his life after his cruiser left Interstate 85 on Jan. 28 and struck an embankment in the north Atlanta suburb of Suwanee. The Georgia Department of Public Safety reported that Cenescar was attempting to stop a motorcycle for a traffic violation before it fled, leading to the pursuit.
Gerson Ayala Rodriguez was arrested and charged with felony murder, first-degree homicide, felony fleeing and attempting to elude, and reckless driving. It was not immediately clear if Rodriguez had retained legal representation, as a call to the Atlanta Office of the Public Defender went unanswered.
The crash report reviewed by WXIA-TV described how Rodriguez’s motorcycle “split” two lanes to escape, causing Cenescar to swerve to avoid other cars. He then veered off the roadway down an embankment, where his vehicle crashed into trees and drainage rocks. Cenescar was taken to a suburban hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp called the arrest a “step toward justice for one of Georgia’s fallen heroes” in a statement on social media. Cenescar had been credited with saving a man’s life in October 2021 after the man drove off an Atlanta bridge and fell onto a train track about 50 feet below. Cenescar drove his car through a locked gate to reach the man and administer first aid.
Cenescar had been with the Department of Public Safety since January 2023 and had graduated from trooper school in September. A judge’s decision to deny bond for the suspect reflects the severity of the charges brought against him in connection to the trooper’s tragic death.