Police arrested Chayanne Samo Rivera, 31, a resident of Vega Alta, and charged him with first-degree murder, illegal discharge of a firearm in public, witness intimidation, and unlicensed possession and use of a firearm. According to police, on April 19, Samo Rivera intervened in a fight between two acquaintances in the Machuchal sector of the Ojo de Agua neighborhood in Vega Alta.
During the altercation, he allegedly drew a gun and shot José Rivera Quintero, 25, in the back. Rivera Quintero was taken to Wilma Vázquez Hospital in Vega Baja, where he died while receiving medical treatment.
Judge Imarie Cintrón of the Bayamón Court found probable cause for arrest and set bail at $655,000, which the suspect (referred to in the article as Rivera Quintero, though this appears to be Samo Rivera) did not post, resulting in his being sent to the Bayamón Regional Jail. Agent Yomaira Rodríguez of the Vega Baja CIC Homicide Division investigated the case, and prosecutor Rosalín García Pastrana filed the criminal charges.