Soured relationship, South Bay shooting leads to ex-girlfriend’s conviction for manslaughter

WEST PALM BEACH — Two years after deputies found 43-year-old Estevan Rodriguez shot dead in his South Bay home, his ex-girlfriend and her friend have been convicted for their roles in the killing.

Roykeria Wiley, 31, of Okeechobee pleaded guilty to manslaughter and burglary this year for what one defense attorney described as a "robbery gone bad." Prosecutors said Wiley and a friend trespassed into her ex-boyfriend's home to burglarize him on June 8, 2020, but left him bleeding to death in the living room.

Palm Beach County sheriff's deputies arrested Wiley after she and a man were seen on surveillance-camera footage fleeing from Rodriguez's home on the 900 block of U.S. Highway 27 moments after the shooting.

Deputies later identified Alex Brinkley, 31, of Belle Glade as the man who fled with Wiley. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter on Oct. 21 after Wiley told prosecutors he pulled the trigger to stop Rodriguez from fighting back.

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Though she faced 11.5 years to 30 years in prison for the crime, Wiley's cooperation with prosecutors earned her two five-year prison sentences to be served concurrently, according to court documents and interviews with attorneys. Circuit Judge Sarah Willis imposed the sentence Friday, shaving nearly 2.5 years from the total for the time Wiley already has spent in jail since her arrest.

Brinkley's subsequent guilty plea for just the one count of manslaughter earned him a 15-year prison sentence, according to Brinkley's defense attorney, Ron Chapman of West Palm Beach. He will not be formally sentenced until he completes a drug-rehabilitation program.

"His sentence is so much longer than hers because she cooperated," Chapman said. "That's the way it works. Whoever cooperates first gets a better deal."

Had Brinkley pointed the finger at Wiley first, he likely would have gotten the better deal, Chapman said. He added that though deputies recovered spent casings at the scene of the shooting, the murder weapon was never found, leaving prosecutors to speculate who fired the fatal shot.

If either Brinkley or Wiley maintained their innocence, each risked being sentenced to life in prison for first-degree murder if a jury had found them guilty. Assistant State Attorney Adrienne Ellis, who prosecuted both, referred questions to the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office spokesperson Marc Freeman. He said that, as a practice, the office does not discuss details of its plea agreements but said Rodriguez's family did not object.

"Based on the circumstances surrounding this case, the state resolved it appropriately and is pleased with the outcome," Freeman said in a prepared statement. " … We hope the family has obtained a measure of justice and closure."

Members of Rodriguez's family did not respond to requests for comment Monday.

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Deputies used witness statements, surveillance-camera footage and cellphone records to link Wiley to the killing. People close to Rodriguez told investigators that Wiley was upset with Rodriguez because he told her he no longer wanted to see her.

Three days before Rodriguez was killed, an intoxicated Wiley shattered a beer bottle in his South Bay home and smashed a mirror, witnesses said.

Another former boyfriend accused Wiley of throwing beer bottles and taking a hammer to a window in his Belle Glade home after a night of drinking in 2019. The man asked for a protection order against Wiley, saying she abused alcohol and that he was afraid for his safety. A judge denied the request.

Wiley initially denied her involvement in the shooting when confronted by deputies, according to her arrest report.

"She lied to the police, just repeatedly said she had nothing to do with it, didn't know anything at all, about anything," Chapman said. "Then after she got the deal, things changed."

Wiley had the motive to hurt Rodriguez, he said, but not Brinkley. There’s no evidence that Brinkley even knew Rodriguez, he added. Still, the 15-year plea agreement was more agreeable than the mandatory life sentence Brinkley would have risked by going to trial, Chapman said.

At her sentencing hearing Friday, Wiley seemed remorseful, said Flynn Bertisch, her defense attorney — and grateful for being sentenced to a fraction of the time she might have been.

"She's been away from her son now for over two years," Bertisch said. "She was a single mom that was helping to raise her son, and, unfortunately, got caught up in something bad."

Editor's note: An earlier version of this article inaccurately attributed a quote to Assistant State Attorney Adrienne Ellis. Marc Freeman, a spokesperson for the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office spokesperson, prepared the statement.

Hannah Phillips is a journalist covering public safety and criminal justice at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at hphillips@pbpost.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: South Bay fatal shooting in 2020 ends with 2 manslaughter convictions