A North Miami man was found guilty this week of gunning down his neighbor and the man's two adult sons during a front-yard confrontation in November 2023, with jurors rejecting his claim that he acted in self-defense. Pierce Nelson Hoempler was convicted of one count of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of Hector Rivera, 57, and his sons Frank Rivera, 37, and Jeremy Rivera, 33.
The killings happened outside 12240 NE 5th Ave in North Miami, according to police, after Hoempler got into an altercation with Hector Rivera at the address on November 13, 2023. As reported by the Miami Herald, Hoempler pulled a semi-automatic pistol from his waistband and pinned down Hector Rivera before opening fire, and Frank and Jeremy Rivera each rushed over to try to help their father before they too were shot. Hector Rivera was shot six times, including twice in the head, according to court records cited in the Herald's report.
Prosecutor Elizabeth Utset argued at trial that the physical evidence undercut Hoempler's version of events, telling jurors that two of the victims had turned their backs when they were shot and that all three men were unarmed. Both Frank and Jeremy Rivera had gunshot wounds consistent with turning away from Hoempler at the moment they were hit, per the Herald's account of the evidence presented. Defense attorney Carlos Gonzalez had countered that Hoempler was defending himself during the confrontation, but jurors ultimately rejected that theory.
The 911 Call and the Self-Defense Fight
Hoempler told a 911 dispatcher after the shooting that he had been “rushed” by the Rivera men, a claim the Herald reports he repeated as the foundation of his defense. That same self-defense argument had already failed once before trial, when Florida's Third District Court of Appeal denied Hoempler's petition for immunity from prosecution under the state's Stand Your Ground law in March 2025, according to FindLaw. The appellate ruling upheld a trial judge's decision following a two-day evidentiary hearing.
During that pre-trial immunity hearing, prosecutors submitted recorded interviews with two of Hector Rivera's minor grandchildren, who were present during the confrontation, while the defense sought to introduce Hoempler's 911 call as evidence, FindLaw reports. Appellate judges noted that the state also presented testimony from three additional witnesses alongside the grandchildren's statements. A neighbor's home surveillance system separately captured audio of up to 15 gunshots fired in rapid succession during the altercation, according to CiberCuba.
A History of Friction Between Neighbors
Family members of the victims told reporters that Hoempler and the Rivera family had clashed before, describing prior verbal altercations and ongoing friction between the households ahead of the fatal shooting, according to CBS News Miami. North Miami police arrested Hoempler on the scene on November 14, 2023, initially booking him on three counts of second-degree murder before prosecutors later pursued the upgraded first-degree murder charge that led to this week's conviction. In January 2024, body-camera footage showed police responding to and securing the scene and capturing Hoempler's arrest on the apartment complex's front lawn.
The shooting unfolded outside an eight-unit apartment complex built in 1951, according to property records from Apartments.com, in a residential area where the suspect and his victims had lived as neighbors. Frank Rivera left behind two sons, ages 8 and 10, both now without their father.
Reaction From Prosecutors and What Comes Next
Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle described the case as the murder of Hector Rivera and his two sons, saying she hopes the verdict brings the Rivera family some sense of closure. Circuit Judge Miguel de la O presided over the trial, and Hoempler now faces up to three life sentences at a sentencing hearing scheduled for October 23.
Florida law provides that a first-degree murder conviction is punishable by death or life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, according to The Law Offices of Robert David Malove. Florida's so-called 10-20-Life statute additionally mandates a minimum prison term of 25 years to life whenever a firearm is discharged during a qualifying felony and causes death, per Rouviere Law.
According to a September 17, 2024 Miami-Dade County memorandum, the county's reported data for homicides by firearm discharge are based on the event date in Miami-Dade County.
A Collabstr profile identifies Pierce Hoempler with the handle saintpierce305 and lists music and entertainment, according to Collabstr. The profile's music-and-entertainment listing stood apart from the courtroom where jurors this week rejected his account of the deadly encounter with his neighbors.
