NEW ROCHELLE, NY — Tommy Rivera, 16, of New Rochelle was back in the Westchester County Court (Youth Part) this afternoon before Judge Helen M. Blackwood for a review of the accusatory document and a Youth Part hearing to determine whether Rivera should be tried as an adult or in Family Court.
Highlights from today’s hearing: Rivera was walking home from school with a .9 mm ghost gun (which suggests he may have had the gun at school), he had a “ghost gun factory” in his bedroom with parts to make more, he is a potential flight risk because his father lives in Colombia, the case will go to a Grand Jury on Thursday and there is a return date of Friday when the judge will decide if Rivera will be tried as an adult.
Rivera was charged with Murder – 2nd Degree, an A Felony, and Criminal Possession of a Weapon – 2nd Degree (Loaded Firearm), a C Felony at his arraignment on January 26, 2022.
Due to Juvenile arrest laws in New York State, the name of the suspect is still being withheld by the New Rochelle Police Department and the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office but the defendant’s name appeared in court records seen by Talk of the Sound.
Prosecutors from the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office presented information indicating Rivera appeared to be building ghosts in his bedroom.
ADA Catalina Blanco Buitrago told Judge Blackwood that the gun used in the shooting had been confirmed in a ballistics report to be a ghost gun. She added that Rivera not only built that gun but had materials to build more.
She said he had a Polymer80 Kit and a drill along with two extra barrels that could go to other guns plus nine millimeter ammunition. She said there was a photo in the bedroom of a ghost gun and other ghosts gun part, that it appears that Rivera built firearms, had parts for other firearms and an entire kit to build firearms.
The Polymer80 Kit ghost guns match the gun found by police in Rivera’s waistband.
Eleven Oliveros family members and friends were present including his mother and father, They met with ADA Catalina Blanco Buitrago in the hallway outside the courtroom as friends and family members of Rivera, including his mother and grandmother, were escorted into the courtroom and told by a court officer to sit on the right. After the Rivera family was seated, the friends and family of Julian Oliveros were escorted in and seated on the left. The only reporter (me) was sent to an overflow courtroom a floor below to watch the proceedings on a monitor.
Rivera lives near the intersection of Highland Avenue and Beechwood Avenue less than four blocks from the scene of last Tuesday’s shooting at the intersection of Washington Avenue and Fourth Street.
Rivera stood in court, handcuffed, with two court officers directly behind him as the hearing began. He is thin with olive skin and black, bushy hair. He was wearing black pants, a black t-shirt with a printed design on the front and a blue surgical mask.
Yvonne Borkowski from the Legal Aid Society, asked the judge if the handcuffs could be removed from her client. Judge Blackwood said that was up to the court officers. The court officers declined the request.
The review of the accusatory included seven exhibits that the ADA said more than met the standard of one or more aggravating facts warranting Rivera be tried as an adult.
- the felony complaint
- the CCTV video from 81 Fourth Street
- the police photo of the firearm
- the ballistics report
- the medical examiner “face sheet”
- a one hour and forty minute interview of Rivera at NRPD headquarters by an NRPD detective
- a photo of clothing that Rivera was wearing in the at the time of the incident, which were found at his house.
The ADA said Rivera caused significant physical injury while displaying a firearm, he repeatedly discharged the firearm striking the victim in three places: <inaudible>, the lower back, and the neck.
The ADA played the video.
In the video, Rivera is depicted walking northbound on Fourth Street. He rounds the corner, facing east on Washington Avenue. As Oliveros approached the corner (out of frame), Rivera holds the gun with two hands, raises it and points the gun and Oliveros. As Oliveros comes into view, Rivera backs up a few feet then fires his weapon repeatedly at Oliveros. Rivera stops firing, turns and then runs southbound on Fourth Street.
The ADA said the New Rochelle Police Crime Scene officers collected four shell casings. The Medical Examiner .9 mm projectiles in Oliveros’ body.
The ADA said the police recovered the gun from the defendant’s waistband at his home. She said according to the ballistics report, the shell casings from the scene match the gun and the rounds in the body also are from the firearm.
She said the Medical Examiner determined the cause of death to be multiple gunshot wounds.
The ADA did not play the defendant interview by NRPD in court but instead read portions of the transcript.
What follows is a quick, rough transcript of what we caught of the ADA’s reading of the official transcript; as the audio quality was suboptimal it may contain errors.
RIVERA: “the boy yeah, the guy who I shot.”
NRPD DETECTIVE: “who is he?
RIVERA: “Yeah, Julian.”
NRPD DETECTIVE: “Julian who??What’s his last name?”
RIVERA: “Oliveros.”
NRPD DETECTIVE: <inaudible>
RIVERA: “I don’t even remember. I’m not going to lie.”
NRPD DETECTIVE: <inaudible>
RIVERA: “I just pulled it out and yeah, I just shot him.”
NRPD DETECTIVE: “How many times?”
RIVERA: “I don’t know.”
The ADA then went onto a photo of clothing found at Rivera’s house which she said matches what Rivera was wearing in the CCTV video.
After presenting the evidence, there was a discussion of bail.
Bail was set at the arraignment hearing at $1,000,000 Cash / $500,000 Bond. Bail was Not Posted. A Temporary Order Of Protection was issued. The DA sought to change the bail terms but Judge Blackwood left the terms in place.
In making her case, the ADA said there was now additional information since the arraignment: the ballistics report which confirmed “the firearm in possession of the defendant is our murder weapon”, the shell casings in the body match the gun, CCTV video from Rivera’s house shows him entering the house four minutes after the homicide wearing the same clothes, that when he is arrested he is wearing different clothes.
Borkowski said that bail should not be changed because Rivera came from a low-income single parent house, that his mother attempted to hire a private attorney but could not afford it. She said Rivera is indigent, resides locally, sat and was questioned for an hour and 40 minutes at New Rochelle police headquarters with his mother, that he lives with his mother and grandmother.
Borkowski said her client was just coming home from school right after he left school, that he was on the path he took to get home from school.
The ADA countered by saying Rivera admitted during the police interview that he had ties to other countries, that his father lives in Columbia.
Judge Blackwood scheduled a return of Friday February 4 for a decision on whether Rivera should be tried as an adult or in Family Court.
On Thursday, this matter will be presented to the grand jury to present the murder and related charges.
UPDATE 2/4/22: Judge Blackwood adjourned the case until February 16, 2022.
As a student I can say the school doesn’t give a fuck till something happens . When the dunkin incident happened they installed metal detectors and after 1 week they were gone the school doesn’t care there is literally girls in the bathroom smoking ,boys aswell and nothing kids bringing in weapons like knifes , and this incident by the way isn’t the first one that’s involved a gun . Guns have been brought into the school aswell
If gun is not made from iron a metal detector will not detect the gun
I think it’s about time metal detectors are installed at NRHS.
I find the statement made by Rivera’s attorney that “her client was just coming home from school right after he left school, that he was on the path he took to get home from school” deeply concerning, as it implies that Rivera had the gun with him during school.
That would be a reasonable inference and therefore something school officials ought to speak to. Not holding my breath.