A recent sentencing of a gang member in the 2005 murder of a rising college basketball star in Long Beach, N.Y., shows the Eastern District of New York's commitment in gang violence cases, the district's U.S. attorney said in a May 6 news release.
Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation street gang member Jaime Rivera was sentenced May 6 by U.S. District Court Judge Denis R. Hurley to 18 years in prison, according to the news release. Rivera was charged with the 2005 murder of C.W. Post college student and basketball player Tafare Berryman, for which Rivera pleaded guilty to in March 2019.
“Tafare Berryman, a college student, athlete and beloved member of the Brooklyn and Long Island communities, was senselessly murdered, depriving him of the bright future he worked so hard to achieve and leaving his bereaved family shattered,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in the release. “This murder, which occurred 17 years ago, was never forgotten and is an example of this office’s unwavering commitment to justice for the victims of gang violence.”
According to the release, Berryman and other C.W. Post college students were out at La Mansion bar and nightclub, as were Latin King members. An altercation between gang members and a C.W. Post student reportedly occurred; however, Berryman was not involved. Berryman and a friend were leaving the club and walking to their car when his friend to struck in the head by a bottle, causing a laceration. The two drove away but pulled over to tend to the cut in Berryman's friend head.
"Rivera then drove up alongside the car and fatally shot Berryman, under the erroneous belief that Berryman and his friend had been involved in the prior altercation that posed a threat to the gang," the news release said.
