Man who shot RPD officer as a teenager pleads guilty to drug charges, faces 15 years in prison

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC)—Tyquan Rivera, the man convicted of attempted murder and imprisoned as a teenager for shooting a Rochester Police officer pled guilty to drug sale charges, and faces 15 years in prison.

Rivera, 27, was charged with the third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance in connection to a 2019 arrest after investigators say he sold fentanyl to two undercover Rochester police officers.

The Monroe County District Attorney’s office said his sentencing will include three years of post release supervision,

Rivera was 14 when he shot Officer Anthony DiPonzio in 2009. He was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to 10 years in prison. He was released in February 2019.

In June of 2020, Rivera was charged with aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in a deadly crash.

In August of 2020, Rivera was charged with obstructing governmental administration and resisting arrest after an incident that ultimately led to police tasing him.

In October 2020 police say they caught him with drugs again, and additional drug charges were filed against him.

He’s also facing charges after prosecutors say Rivera assaulted and strangled a former girlfriend he was already under a court order of protection to stay away from. In that case, he was released without bail and was free when this assault is alleged to have happened.

Sentencing in the drug plea will happen on Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2021, at 9:30 a.m. As part of his plea, Rivera agreed to pay $840 in restitution.