The maniac suspect in a string of Manhattan stabbings has a long criminal history and had just walked free from Rikers Island a month before the horrific attacks, The Post learned Monday. .
Sources said Ramon Rivera, 51, who was identified as a person of interest in the bloody incident, was arrested in October after spending much of this year in prison following a string of recent robbery and assault convictions. He was released on a limited basis on the 17th. .
The release has baffled Mayor Eric Adams, and NYPD investigators have questioned how a career criminal with a history of mental illness can be released despite a recent conviction. He said he was investigating.
“We are still looking into his records, but there are big questions as to why he was on the street,” he said.
Rivera was rearrested on grand larceny charges the day he was released after prosecutors said he stole an acrylic bowl valued at nearly $1,500 from the upscale Jonathan Adler store in Tribeca in December 2023, according to court records.
Manhattan prosecutors asked for bail, and a judge ordered bail on non-monetary conditions ahead of a Dec. 4 trial date, records show.
Officials said Rivera had been arrested at least eight times in New York City, had mental health issues and had been involved in police encounters in multiple states for years.
Many details about Rivera's record remained unclear as of Monday night, but the broad outlines paint a portrait of a troubled and sometimes violent man who has lived outside the law for decades. There is.
Rivera's latest incarceration began on February 19, when NYPD officers arrested him in connection with a robbery in Manhattan, sources said.
Sources say the robberies date back to December 2023, when thieves broke glass doors and windows at bodegas and smoking areas and stole thousands of dollars worth of cigarettes, vapes and lighters.
Rivera was held at Rikers Island for several months as prosecutors combined the robbery charges into a single indictment, officials said.
Officials said Rivera spent several days in the psychiatric ward of Bellevue Hospital in May, where authorities say he assaulted a correctional officer.
By August, he had pleaded guilty to robbery and received 364 days in prison, officials said. The next month, he pleaded guilty to assaulting a correctional officer and was sentenced to 90 days in jail concurrently with the theft conviction, sources said.
Officials said Rivera was eventually released after serving three-quarters of his sentence, or nine months.
Rivera's encounters with NYPD officers also included two mental health incidents in November and December 2023, officials said.
Police in Union City, New Jersey, arrested Rivera in January not only as a theft suspect but also as a fugitive from justice, as New York City police focused on Rivera as a robbery suspect, officials said. .
Hoboken police arrested him around that time on two counts of criminal mischief, sources said.
Rivera also has a criminal history in several other states.
Officials said he was also arrested in a 2017 assault case in Cleveland, Ohio. Officials said Florida authorities had arrested him several times dating back to 2003 on charges ranging from domestic violence to solicitation of prostitutes and drunk driving.
