Vineland Man Convicted After Pulling a Gun During a Fight at a 1-Year-Old's Birthday Party
A jury convicted Angel Rivera, 28, of Vineland on two second-degree weapons charges after prosecutors said he pulled a gun during a fight at a 1-year-old's birthday party in 2021.
What happened
Where it happened
- Vineland, Cumberland County.
It was supposed to be a first birthday. Prosecutors say it turned into a fight, a gun and a man running from police.
A jury has convicted Angel Rivera, 28, of Vineland, of second-degree unlawful possession of a weapon and second-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, the Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office said. The case dates to June 27, 2021, at a 1-year-old's birthday party in Vineland.
Prosecutors said Rivera had a gun at the party when a physical fight broke out, and he pulled it out to threaten or harass another person there. The verdict came more than five years after that night.
When police arrived, Rivera ran, officials said. Officers caught up with him a few blocks away. A police K-9 later found the gun about half a block from Rivera, in tall weeds on a vacant lot where authorities believe he hid it.
Rivera faces five to 10 years behind bars, with at least three and a half years before he is eligible for parole, prosecutors said. His sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 21.
Source: Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office. Originally reported by Patch.
Photo: Landis Avenue in downtown Vineland. Smallbones / Wikimedia Commons (public domain).
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