Born in Cuba, de la Rionda moved to Miami, Florida in the U.S. to live with relatives at age four and never saw his parents again.[1]
He graduated from the Miami-Dade Community College with an Associate of Arts in 1978, University of Miami with a Bachelor of Arts in politics, public affairs and history in 1980, and Florida State University College of Law with a Juris Doctor in 1982.[1][3][4]
In 1988, he prosecuted spree killer Mark Asay, in his first death penalty-eligible case. Ultimately, Asay was executed in 2017, marking de la Rionda's first successful death sentence carried out by the state.[5][6]
In 1996 he prosecuted serial killer Gary Ray Bowles in Jacksonville, Florida. In 2019 he attended Bowles' execution.[7]
In 2010, he was honored with the FBI Director's Community Leadership Award for being an "exceptional prosecutor".[8]
He served as an assistant state attorney in the fourth judicial circuit in the State of Florida from 1983 until his retirement in 2018.[3] and was the lead prosecutor in State of Florida vs. George Zimmerman.[9]
Since 2018 he has served as an Attorney in private practice and is writing two books based on his experience coming to the United States and the death penalty.[3]
De la Rionda was selected by state attorney Angela Corey to serve as the lead prosecutor for the case. Zimmerman was found not guilty after two days of jury deliberations.