Michael Mattioli verdict: Not guilty in Joel Acevedo's death, jury finds

MILWAUKEE - Former Milwaukee Police Officer Michael Mattioli was found not guilty at trial Friday, Nov. 10 in the death of Joel Acevedo.

The first-degree reckless homicide case began more than three-and-a-half years ago, and the trial was delayed several times. The jury, made up of eight women and four men, deliberated for five hours.

Closing arguments in the Mattioli trial, which began Monday, took less than an hour Friday morning. The prosecution team's argument lasted about 14 minutes Friday morning. The defense spoke to jurors for about 22 minutes.

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"The conduct of Michael Mattioli that morning was a substantial factor. But for Michael Mattioli's conduct, Joel Acevedo would be alive," said Milwaukee County Assistant District Attorney Paul Tiffin.

"Think of it the other way. But for the conduct of Mr. Acevedo, Mr. Acevedo would be alive," said Michael Hart, defense attorney.

Mattioli invited Acevedo and two other friends to his house for drinks in April 2020. Everyone went to bed that morning.  

"He’s in bed, minding his own business, when in comes Joel Acevedo rummaging through pockets," Hart said. 

Mattioli's defense said Acevedo was secretly doing cocaine the night before and tried to score more than morning.

"This was not self-defense or defense of Mr. Peters. It's also not a legal arrest," Tiffin said. 

Mattioli said he accused Acevedo of stealing and repeatedly asked him to leave, but Acevedo refused. Mattioli said Acevedo got aggressive, pushed him and then punched another man twice. So Mattioli held him down and called police. In the 911 calls, prosecutors argue you can hear Acevedo begging Mattioli to let him go. 

"'Let me go home, My score’s not woke, I’m going home,'" Tiffin said. 

Prosecutors said Mattioli was the one preventing Acevedo from leaving. Acevedo died six days later from lack of oxygen to his brain. Prosecutors said it was Mattioli's weight on Acevedo, while the defense said cocaine and chronic health issues caused Acevedo's death.

"There are no winners in this case. This is a tragedy beyond imagination. But the cause of it, and ultimately the cause of Mr. Acevedo's tragic death, was his own conduct," Hart said. 

FOX6 reached out to Mattioli's attorneys. They said they are not commenting on the verdict at this time.

Acevedo family responds

Anger, sadness, and heartbreak were just some of the emotions from Acevedo's family after the not guilty verdict was reached. They told FOX6 News they walked out of the courtroom feeling defeated in more pain, but they do have closure years after Joel's death.

"They came to their decision, and I totally disagree with it," said Jose Acevedo, Joel's father. "Joel was never the aggressor. I don't know why that didn't come out in court." 

"There is a lot of mixed emotions of course, you know, you lose your son to such a tragic incident," said Maribel Acevedo, Joel's mother. "There’s peace that they can’t take because Joel is home, and that’s my victory, and that’s my closure."

The family's attorney, B'Ivory Lamarr, said one thing was missed during the trial.

"We have been waiting three-and-a-half years to find out what did Joel Acevedo steal? What was in Mr. Mattioli's pockets," he said.

As the Acevedo family left the courthouse Friday, they held onto their son – and said their fight is far from over.

"We got to keep moving forward, keep Joel’s name alive," Jose said.

Lamarr said next steps will be going forward with a civil lawsuit.