Attorneys argue over motions before trial in Butler teen cyclist death
In a courtroom filled with family and friends of Aiden Lutz wearing yellow T-shirts saying “Justice for Aiden,” attorneys argued Tuesday, Aug. 4, over motions that could impact the upcoming trial for a Butler man charged with hitting and killing the 15-year-old Lutz while he was riding a bicycle in October 2023 in Butler Township.
The trial for Joshua A. Rivera, 41, is scheduled to begin Sept. 21 following jury selection Sept. 16 in Butler County Common Pleas Court.
Township police charged Rivera with striking Lutz on Dutchtown Road and fleeing the scene while driving with a suspended license Oct. 19, 2023. He is being held in the Butler County Prison in lieu of $500,000 bail.
A handful of people supporting Rivera also attended Tuesday’s hearing.
Public defender Joseph Smith, who is representing Rivera, and assistant district attorney Ben Simon argued over motions Smith filed to dismiss the case because the prosecution exceeded the time limit to bring the case to trial; and to exclude potential evidence uncovered while a previous ruling was under appeal in Superior Court.
Smith said his Rule 600 speedy trial motion and his motion to exclude evidence are intertwined.
He said the district attorney’s office interviewed Nicole Lynn Kelly, who was charged with hindering apprehension in the case on Sept. 11, 2025, while the district attorney’s office appeal was being litigated. Kelly told prosecutors racing was involved in the crash and prosecutors showed bad faith to gain a tactical advantage by pursuing evidence about the racing while an appeal was pending, according to Smith. The Rule 600 time clock started that day, he said.
Township police charged Kelly, 34, of Butler, with a misdemeanor charge of hindering apprehension on Oct. 22. She was accepted into the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition and served 24 months of probation. People who complete the diversionary ARD program can have their records expunged.
Smith argued, and Simon agreed, Kelly was not going to be a prosecution witness and racing had never been mentioned until she was interviewed. Smith said the interview was not recorded, Kelly’s statement was coerced and he disputes her truthfulness.
He said Kelly’s statement should not be admitted as evidence and she should not be allowed to testify about it because they would lead the jury to speculate.
The prosecution is using the reported racing to try to prove Rivera acted with malice, Smith said.
“They created evidence,” Smith argued.
In December 2025, township police video taped and timed an officer driving the route of the race described by Kelly at the request of the district attorney’s office, Smith said.
Simon argued that initially Kelly was not a cooperating witness, but that changed in May 2025. He called assistant district attorney Andrew Calve as a witness to explain what changed.
Calve testified he was in family court May 20, 2025, waiting for his case to be called while a hearing involving Rivera was taking place. He said a woman had filed a petition for a protection from abuse order against Rivera. After his hearing, Calve said he told Simon someone was trying to obtain a PFA against Rivera.
Simon said he followed up with Kelly after the PFA hearing. She was interviewed and wrote a statement while she was in the ARD program and she was not offered leniency, he said.
“We reacted to new information that came to our attention,” Simon said.
In September 2025, Simon said he learned Kelly had made a video recording of a conversation she had with Rivera, whom she had dated or was engaged to.
In the video, Kelly confronts Rivera about driving with a suspended license. He admits to that, but said she is a snitch if she tells anybody, Simon said.
“His statement acknowledges culpability,” Simon said.
Simon said the defense requested a continuance while the appeal was pending and that continuance impacted the time it has taken to bring the case to trial. The time it took to resolve the appeal does not count against the Rule 600 time limit, Simon said.
Senior Judge Christopher St. John agreed to seal Kelly’s statement to avoid tainting potential jurors before the trial, but didn’t rule on either motion. He said he would take the arguments under advisement.
In addition, he told the people wearing Justice for Aiden T-shirts not to wear clothing that contains messaging in court during the trial.
