(Rochester, N.Y.) -- The jury in Tyquan Rivera’s trial found him guilty of attempted murder in the second degree and also guilty of assault in the first degree, after deliberating for 9 hours.
He could be sentenced to 3.5 to ten years in prison.
Fellow officers of Anthony DiPonzio shed tears as the verdict was read.
Rivera will be sentenced Friday, October 16, at 10:30 a.m. Until then, he goes back to prison with no bail.
During the trial, Rivera denied shooting Police Officer Anthony DiPonzio in January. He testified Thursday that a man in a ski mask and dreadlocks shot DiPonzio and paid Rivera to take the gun and hide it. Rivera is charged with attempted murder and assault.
In his closing argument Thursday, Defense Attorney Culver Barr reiterated that the main issue is the identity of the shooter.
He attempted to establish doubt in the technical evidence in the case, arguing that there was no clear indication of where the shot came from. Barr argued that the community should be concerned if the police had “tunnel vision” and that the case was primarily circumstantial.
Monroe County District Attorney Mike Green countered in his close that if all the evidence is lined up, there is no other reasonable explanation.
Green said that, though Rivera tried to supply an alternative, “it was not a reasonable and logical explanation.”
Green attempted to narrow down the possible suspects using Rivera’s own testimony. “Was it was Tyquan Rivera that fired the shot, or was it the masked mystery man who fired the shot?”
13WHAM's Rachel Barnhart will also have real-time updates as often as possible via her Twitter feed: twitter.com/rachbarnhart.
