By:Jerry Burke
According to the Fifth Squad, 24-year-old Heyner Rivera of Hempstead armed himself with a 12-gauge shotgun and drove to the Hempstead Turnpike motel, where police say a male acquaintance was staying. Police say Rivera believed that his girlfriend had been cheated out of money by the man, and Rivera was looking to get it back.
Police say Rivera knocked on the man's motel-room door a little before 5 a.m. on Feb. 7. When the man opened the door, Rivera allegedly brandished the shotgun, pointing it at him. Detectives said that the man made a move for the shotgun and tried to wrestle it out of Rivera's hands. The man managed to throw his attacker back out the open door, and immediately closed it and locked it.
Police say Rivera then quickly fled the scene, leaving in a Lincoln Navigator. An hour and a half later, two Fifth Precinct police officers tracked down the alleged getaway car in the driveway of a Harvard Avenue home in Hempstead. After calling for backup, the officers entered the home and arrested Rivera.
Police say the defendant was in possession of a fully loaded shotgun as well as a 9-millimeter handgun. Police also found two small bags of marijuana and a small amount of crack cocaine.
Rivera was charged with second-degree menacing, fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property, two counts of third-degree weapons possession and two counts of third-degree possession of a controlled substance. Police say the victim was not hurt, and have not been able to substantiate Rivera's claim that his girlfriend was robbed by the man.
