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Michael Mattioli trial, friends testify
Witness testimony began Tuesday in the homicide trial of former Milwaukee police officer Michael Mattioli.
MILWAUKEE - Witness testimony began Tuesday in the homicide trial of former Milwaukee police officer Michael Mattioli.
Mattioli, 36, is charged with first-degree reckless homicide in the April 2020 death of Joel Acevedo following a party at Mattioli’s home.
Mattioli said he woke up to Acevedo going through his pockets. He said he accused him of stealing and told him to leave, but Acevedo did not.
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Two of Mattioli’s friends took the witness stand Tuesday.
"It was a good mood," said one of his friends, Andrew Jankowski. "Telling jokes, having a good time."
Michael Mattioli
Acevdeo met the three men about a month earlier at a St. Patrick’s Day bar crawl.
Another friend, Christopher Peters, described the evening of the party as "joyful."
Christopher Peters
"Everybody was getting along," he said on Tuesday.
Peters, Jankowski and Acevdeo stayed the night at Mattioli’s home.
Around 7 a.m., Jankowski said he could hear conversation.
"[I was] laying on the couch, awakened by something," he said. "I could hear two individuals talking, getting more agitated or upset tone."
He said he overheard profanities and somebody saying that they did not steal anything.
Peters agreed.
"I remember [Mattioli] saying, ‘You were stealing from me. You were going through my pockets.’"
Peters said Acevdeo denied that he was going through his pockets.
Joel Acevedo
The two men said Mattioli told Acevedo to leave when Acevedo struck Mattioli.
Peters described Acevdedo’s demeanor as "enraged" and Mattioli then called 911. The phone was allegedly knocked away and Peters picked it up and went outside to wait for police.
"I placed my body on the back of Joel’s legs, I could see he was struggling with Michael," Jankowski said.
He also noted that Acevdedo was the aggressor.
By the time police arrived, former officer Robert Roach said it appeared Mattioli had Acevedo in a choke hold.
"From what I saw, it appeared to me as if he was laying on him, chest to back," he said.
Andrew Jankowski
Acevedo was not breathing, nor did he have a pulse.
"I continued delivering compressions," Roach said.
Acevedo died six days later from a lack of oxygen to his brain.
Prosecutors said Mattioli’s weight on Acevedo caused his death. Mattioli’s defense said Acevedo had no damage to his neck, arguing cocaine and chronic health issues caused his death.
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The state plans to call the current Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s office to testify in the case, as the medical examiner who did Acevedo's autopsy is no longer employed with the county and not taking part in the trial.
The trial is expected to last a week.
FOX6 News plans to stream the entirety of the Mattioli trial. You will be able to watch the trial in posts on FOX6Now.com, the FOX6 News YouTube channel and FOX6 News Milwaukee on Facebook.