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Here in Kansas, we charged a 13 year old girl as an adult for a vicious carjacking/murder.
Rivera gets maximum for shooting DiPonzio
The teenager who shot a rookie police officer in the head while trying to shoot another cop he had a confrontation with will be incarcerated for at least 3 1/3 years.
After listening to statements made by Tyquan L. Rivera and Officer Anthony DiPonzio, state Supreme Court Justice Joseph D. Valentino said, “Your action was a cowardly act,†before sentencing Rivera to the maximum 3 1/3 to 10 years in prison.
“You may not have hit the officer you intended to hit, but you caused physical harm to another. No one else is to blame for your actions but you,†Valentino told Rivera.
Rivera was convicted Sep. 4 of attempted second-degree murder and first-degree assault following a four-day trial. He was accused of taking a 22-caliber rifle and aiming it at Officer Kevin Mack, with whom he had had a confrontation moments earlier. However, the shot he fired struck DiPonzio, who had just arrived on scene to back up Mack and was standing a few feet away.
Even after a jury found him guilty of both felony counts in the indictment, Rivera insists that he was not the shooter.
“My heart goes out to Officer DiPonzio and his family. But I was not the shooter,†he said when he addressed the court. He also thanked his attorneys for representing him.
DiPonzio spent about two weeks at Rochester General Hospital before being transferred to Unity Health System’s Brain Injury Rehabilitation Unit, where he was an inpatient until April 1. He has had two surgeries to replace half of his skull.
DiPonzio can now stand and walk on his own but is continuing to work on getting more movement in his left arm. His recovery is expected to take about another year or year and a half.
DiPonzio is currently living with his parents at his home in Greece and going to physical therapy daily for about three hours. He asked for the maximum sentence.
“I would like to say this has affected me very greatly, not just physically, but also by having to watch my family deal with my injuries and rearrange their lives,†DiPonzio told the court. Referring to his fellow officers, he said, “I ask on behalf of my brothers and sisters who still have to work every single day… that you impose the maximum sentence.â€
Had he been 16, Rivera would have received a prison term of at least five years and no more than 25 years on convictions for attempted murder and assault.
Valentino said he believes that when members of the state Legislature passed laws on juvenile offenders, they never imagined that any judge would have to hear a case of a 14-year-old who shot an on-duty police officer. If they had, they would have mandated for a higher sentence for such cases, he said.
“I don’t know if you will ever comprehend how many lives you affected by your actions,†Valentino told Rivera. He then said the court would file a recommendation that Rivera serve the full term of his 3 1/3- to 10-year sentence.
Since he is a juvenile, Rivera will serve the first part of his sentence at a state juvenile facility. Once he turns 16 years old, the New York State Office of Children and Family Services has the option to transfer him to a state prison if approved by a judge, Monroe County District Attorney Mike Green said. Once he turns 18, it is at the discretion of the OCFS director on whether Rivera should stay in a juvenile facility or be sent to prison. But by 21 years old, all juveniles are transferred to the adult correctional facilities.
In the next few days, Rivera will be taken to a juvenile intake facility to be evaluated and then it will be determined which facility he goes to, Green said. He added that the OCFS tries to keep juveniles in facilities that are close to their hometown but it sometimes comes down to whether they have space for another juvenile and other factors. In Rivera’s case, the State School at Industry in Rush is the closest facility.
Rivera’s mother, Wanda Lise, declined to comment as she left the courtroom.
DiPonzio’s mother, Joanne DiPonzio, said DiPonzio continues to get better each day and the verdict and sentencing was one more step in the process.
“It’s not victory for us but it’s closure,†she said.
The teenager who shot a rookie police officer in the head while trying to shoot another cop he had a confrontation with will be incarcerated for at least 3 1/3 years.
After listening to statements made by Tyquan L. Rivera and Officer Anthony DiPonzio, state Supreme Court Justice Joseph D. Valentino said, “Your action was a cowardly act,†before sentencing Rivera to the maximum 3 1/3 to 10 years in prison.
“You may not have hit the officer you intended to hit, but you caused physical harm to another. No one else is to blame for your actions but you,†Valentino told Rivera.
Rivera was convicted Sep. 4 of attempted second-degree murder and first-degree assault following a four-day trial. He was accused of taking a 22-caliber rifle and aiming it at Officer Kevin Mack, with whom he had had a confrontation moments earlier. However, the shot he fired struck DiPonzio, who had just arrived on scene to back up Mack and was standing a few feet away.
Even after a jury found him guilty of both felony counts in the indictment, Rivera insists that he was not the shooter.
“My heart goes out to Officer DiPonzio and his family. But I was not the shooter,†he said when he addressed the court. He also thanked his attorneys for representing him.
DiPonzio spent about two weeks at Rochester General Hospital before being transferred to Unity Health System’s Brain Injury Rehabilitation Unit, where he was an inpatient until April 1. He has had two surgeries to replace half of his skull.
DiPonzio can now stand and walk on his own but is continuing to work on getting more movement in his left arm. His recovery is expected to take about another year or year and a half.
DiPonzio is currently living with his parents at his home in Greece and going to physical therapy daily for about three hours. He asked for the maximum sentence.
“I would like to say this has affected me very greatly, not just physically, but also by having to watch my family deal with my injuries and rearrange their lives,†DiPonzio told the court. Referring to his fellow officers, he said, “I ask on behalf of my brothers and sisters who still have to work every single day… that you impose the maximum sentence.â€
Had he been 16, Rivera would have received a prison term of at least five years and no more than 25 years on convictions for attempted murder and assault.
Valentino said he believes that when members of the state Legislature passed laws on juvenile offenders, they never imagined that any judge would have to hear a case of a 14-year-old who shot an on-duty police officer. If they had, they would have mandated for a higher sentence for such cases, he said.
“I don’t know if you will ever comprehend how many lives you affected by your actions,†Valentino told Rivera. He then said the court would file a recommendation that Rivera serve the full term of his 3 1/3- to 10-year sentence.
Since he is a juvenile, Rivera will serve the first part of his sentence at a state juvenile facility. Once he turns 16 years old, the New York State Office of Children and Family Services has the option to transfer him to a state prison if approved by a judge, Monroe County District Attorney Mike Green said. Once he turns 18, it is at the discretion of the OCFS director on whether Rivera should stay in a juvenile facility or be sent to prison. But by 21 years old, all juveniles are transferred to the adult correctional facilities.
In the next few days, Rivera will be taken to a juvenile intake facility to be evaluated and then it will be determined which facility he goes to, Green said. He added that the OCFS tries to keep juveniles in facilities that are close to their hometown but it sometimes comes down to whether they have space for another juvenile and other factors. In Rivera’s case, the State School at Industry in Rush is the closest facility.
Rivera’s mother, Wanda Lise, declined to comment as she left the courtroom.
DiPonzio’s mother, Joanne DiPonzio, said DiPonzio continues to get better each day and the verdict and sentencing was one more step in the process.
“It’s not victory for us but it’s closure,†she said.
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