Fallen trooper’s family receives his diploma

He was killed on duty before he could graduate.

State Trooper Jimmy Cenescar was months away from completing his bachelor’s degree when he was killed in the line of duty in January.

His family was presented with his diploma during Thursday’s Georgia Gwinnett College graduation ceremony, the college announced. Cenescar was studying criminal justice and planned to pursue leadership roles, his obituary states.

“Jimmy passed doing what he loved,” his brother, Joel Cenescar, said during the funeral service. “His job was what he did.”

The GGC held its graduation ceremony at Gas South Arena in Duluth with more than 900 receiving diplomas, a record for the college.

Trooper Cenescar was killed in a crash Jan. 28 while pursuing a motorcyclist accused of violating several traffic laws on I-85 in Gwinnett County. He was 28.

In April, the Gwinnett grand jury indicted Gerson Danilo Ayala-Rodriguez, 21, for murder after he allegedly fled from Cenescar, who then crashed and died, the district attorney said.

Gov. Brian Kemp and numerous law enforcement officers joined grieving friends and loved ones at the February service at Mount Paran Church in Atlanta.

“We consider this a deep loss for our entire state,” Kemp said, “and we are grieving with you.”

A native of Haiti, Cenescar moved with his family to the U.S. as a 4-year-old and was raised in Orlando before the family settled in Paulding County.

Cenescar was working for the Atlanta Police Department in 2021 when a man flagged him down during an overnight shift. A red BMW had plunged off a northwest Atlanta bridge, and the driver was still inside as the car dangled over a segment of the Norfolk Southern-Inman rail yard.

After getting permission from a supervisor, Cenescar pushed through a locked gate with his patrol vehicle so he could rescue the driver.

“It was a very chaotic scene. I just knew I had to get everything under control,” Cenescar said at the time. “My training kicked in and I just took action.”

He joined the Georgia State Patrol after three years with the Atlanta Police Department.

Cenescar is survived by his fiancée, his parents, a sister and four brothers.

Trooper Jimmy Cenescar