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Ryan Rivera, 24, was convicted of third-degree murder, conspiracy and carrying a firearm in a jury trial on Nov. 19 in the drive-by killing of 22-year-old Tyreek Gardner in May 2019, according to a release from the Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office.
Rivera confronted Gardner with another man on the 300 block of E. Fulton St. after the two had crossed paths earlier that night.
The man with Rivera punched Gardner before he fled and was shot at by the two men near Tobacco Avenue, where shell casings were later recovered, authorities said.
Rivera was then captured on surveillance footage entering a Volkswagen Passat, catching up with Gardner and fatally shooting him while driving down Chestnut Street.
Rivera faces between 43 ½ and 87 years in prison, a sentence requested by First Deputy District Attorney Travis Anderson, who noted that the incident was Rivera’s third separate firearm offense and that he was still on parole at the time of the deadly shooting.
Rivera, of the 500 block of Third St. in Lancaster City, may face additional jail time for a parole violation, which would run consecutively to his first sentence.
“One of my responsibilities is to keep the community protected from the threat of danger,” said Lancaster County Judge Dennis Reinaker during sentencing.
“The streets of Lancaster will be safer without you on them. Hopefully someday he’ll come to appreciate the gravity of what he’s done.”
Source: CrimeWatchPA.com/Lancaster County District Attorney's Office
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