ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The arrest of two parolees for a deadly triple shooting in Rochester has spurred debate over parole reform in New York State.

Nasezire Horton, 21, and Quentin Riviere, 21, are in the Monroe County Jail after Rochester police say they shot three people Monday on Hazelwood Terrace. Two boys survived, but a 19-year-old woman was killed. Investigators believe the men have been involved in other shootings in the city.

Riviere is on parole for burglary. Horton was released to parole in March of this year, relating to an assault conviction. Police say he was arrested for riding a stolen moped 19 days before the deadly shooting, violating his parole. He was booked in jail but released after his parole hearing.

“We are stuck with a parole system that is not properly supervising people, and I have to be honest with you, the state of New York owes that family an apology,” former Gates Police Chief and state Senate candidate Jim VanBrederode said.

VanBrederode spoke out Friday at Parcel 5 downtown, calling on legislators to address parole reform. He says these arrests are just the latest example of the state’s failing parole system, one that neighbors say should balance punishment and community safety.

“The criminals have taken over the streets. They run the streets. Law enforcement, the parole system, has totally lost the ability to incarcerate the bad guys,” VanBrederode said.

VanBrederode spoke out against “Less is More,” a parole reform law passed in 2022 that prevents most people accused of technical parole violations from being put behind bars. When asked whether Horton and Riviere would have been kept off the streets if “Less is More” hadn’t been passed, VanBrederode could not say for sure, but he said clearly more needs to be done.

“I can tell you what the system used to be like when I was on the job. We would find a parolee out in the middle of the night, we would literally call the parole officer, who would come, put him in jail, put a detainer on him,” VanBrederode said.

But treating every case the same is what neighbors like Edwarteescia Clark say is part of the problem.

“Some people get out of jail and they have family, they start jobs, they go to school, and then minor things happen and they get sent back,” Clark said.

Clark, a mother of two, says there is a clear difference between violent criminals who need to be behind bars and others who have paid their debt to society and need help starting over.

“I do believe in second chances. You know, I believe that everybody make mistakes. And you know getting out, getting out of jail and paroled, some people need structure and a back-up plan,” Clark said.

Senator Jeremy Cooney, whose 56th state Senate seat VanBrederode is running for, issued a statement defending his record on crime.

In the statement, Cooney campaign spokesman Andrew Cook said: “Since he was first elected to the State Senate, Senator Cooney has pushed for policy changes to strengthen public safety and reduce community violence. He has secured record funding for police departments to take illegal guns off our streets and stood up against some in his own party who called for defunding police, work that earned him the title ‘Legislator of the Year’”’ by the New York State Troopers Police Benevolent Association last year. While Senator Cooney has been fighting for these reforms in Albany, his opponent has not called for significant changes to our gun safety laws at the federal level and has not brought forward any specific solutions that are proven to reduce violent crimes in our community.”

On Friday, VanBrederode also spoke about the effect of marijuana legalization on crime, saying the legalization of marijuana is impacting crime and adding New York has become a “black market” for the drug. When asked what he meant by that, he said the state’s failure to appropriately distribute licenses to qualified sellers has only made the black market for marijuana grow.

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