The immigrant teen who allegedly shot dead a tourist in Times Square and opened fire on NYPD officers pleaded not guilty Monday to attempted murder charges, but his lawyer said in court rather than on social media. This is because he begged the public to unfold the incident.
“This case… has received a lot of media attention,” defense attorney Adrian Doreen Edwards said of the Feb. 8 shooting allegedly committed by 15-year-old Venezuelan Jesús Alejandro Rivas-Figueroa. talked about the incident.
“I ask everyone to let this case play out in court, not on social media or in the press, where this case has taken on an originality.”
Edwards made this statement shortly after a hearing in Manhattan Supreme Court. There, her client pleaded not guilty to charges charging him with two counts each of attempted second-degree murder and attempted first-degree assault, one count of second-degree assault, and one count of first-degree assault. Price for a pair of weapons.
Judge Stephen Antignani remanded Rivas Figueroa, who attempted to flee the city with his mother after the shooting and was described by authorities as “armed and dangerous” during the ensuing manhunt.
Police caught up with the pair less than 24 hours later, breaking into their home in Yonkers, where the young man who allegedly pulled the trigger “hidden behind a wardrobe in an additional attempt to evade police,” authorities said. .
Edwards said there is an extensive case file to analyze, including footage from 120 police body cameras and more than 1,000 pages of discovery materials.
Rivas Figueroa’s father, Juan Carlos Gonzalez, also attended the hearing, but his lawyer wouldn’t let him answer when asked if he believed his son was guilty.
“I’m not going to let him even say that,” Edward told the Post, adding that Rivas-Figueroa’s father had no control over his son’s actions. “This case will be played out in court, not in the media.”
“Anything that has to do with guilt or innocence will be dealt with.” [with] In court,” she said. “It won’t be reported in the press. And his opinion on what he did or didn’t do and why. [were] …It doesn’t matter to me at all. So I’m not even going to let him answer that. ”
Gonzalez, who looked solemn during the court proceedings, said only that he felt “sick” about the charges against his son and declined to comment further.
In announcing the indictment, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said the shooting occurred “in the middle of crowded Times Square, filled with New Yorkers and tourists.”
Click here for the latest information on the Times Square shooting incident
- Sergeant John Chell said the NYPD has identified Jesus Lehenadro Rivas-Figueroa, 15, as the suspect involved in Thursday night’s shooting.
- Prosecutors asked the judge to send the boy to prison without bail because “he has significant connections outside the United States” and has only been here “for a short period of time.”
- Officials said the boy was charged as an adult because he did not enter a plea, but because of his age, he will be sent to a juvenile detention facility.
- A tourist was shot in the leg by a shoplifter at a Times Square retail store Thursday night. A shoplifter opened fire on an NYPD officer in Midtown, police said.
- As security guards at JD Sports at West 42nd Street and Broadway approached a group of young men to stop a theft, one of them pulled out a gun and fired a shot at the woman, missing and striking a nearby tourist. It hit.
- Officials said Friday that a 15-year-old boy and a third person were taken into custody and later released.
“This defendant is accused of recklessly discharging a firearm inside a store, attacking a tourist, and valiantly pointing a gun at a police officer who attempted to arrest him,” Bragg said. statement.
“We will continue to work closely with law enforcement to ensure full accountability for gun violence.”
Rivas Figueroa arrived in the United States in September and was staying in a temporary shelter at the Stratford Hotel on West 70th Street.
Police said the suspect and two other teens were attempting to shoplift from JD Sports, a sports fashion retailer at West 42nd Street and Seventh Avenue, around 7 p.m. when security officers intercepted them. He says he was stopped.
Authorities said Rivas-Figueroa pulled out a .45-caliber pistol and fired at the security guard, but the bullet accidentally struck a nearby tourist in the leg.
Police officials said video footage allegedly shows Rivas-Figueroa, wearing all white clothing, and another teenager coming from the store. Police chased them, with one officer snatching the unidentified boy while the other pursued the gunman.
That’s when he turned around and fired at officers, New York City Police Department Sergeant John Chell said.
The injured tourist received 13 stitches in his leg at Bellevue Hospital and was later released.
Edwards said his client understood the “seriousness of the charges” and the circumstances of the case.
Rivas-Figueroa’s next hearing is April 19.
