A Latin King gang-banger who comes from a police family has been indicted for the long unsolved 2005 murder of college basketball star Tafare Berryman on Long Island, officials announced Monday.
Jaime Rivera, 32, of the Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation street gangs, was charged in a two-count indictment unsealed Monday in Long Island federal court, officials said.
Rivera, a Freeport, Long Island, resident, comes from a family of law enforcement, sources said. His mother is a retired member of the NYPD, his step-father an active member of the NYPD and his brother an active member of the Freeport Police Department, according to sources.
“Gang violence has taken the lives of too many innocent young people with bright futures,” said Eastern District US Attorney Robert Capers said in a statement announcing the arrest. “This case should serve as a message to all gang members, if you engage in violent gang activity, our law enforcement partners will not stop pursuing you until you are held accountable for your actions.”
Berryman, a popular 22-year-old hoopster of C.W. Post College, was shot dead in the early morning hours of April 3, 2005, near a nightclub in Island Park.
Police have long believed that Berryman was shot in a case of mistaken identity after he and a friend drove away from the scene of a fight in the parking lot near the club.
Before the slaying, Rivera and other Latin King gang members were present at the La Mansion bar and nightclub where Berryman and some of his pals were partying, according to the indictment.
An incident occurred inside of the Long Beach Road club between some gang members and one of the C.W. Post College students, which then spilled out into a parking lot across the street from the club.
At about 5 a.m. that morning, Berryman and a friend exited the club to the chaotic fighting happening in the parking lot.
As the two walked to their car, Berryman’s friend was whacked in the head with a bottle, causing a laceration, before the pair got into a car and drove off.
Several blocks from the club, Berryman’s pal, who was driving, pulled over to tend to his bleeding wound, when suddenly Rivera pulled up alongside the car and allegedly shot Berryman once, killing him, according to the indictment.
Rivera mistakenly believed Berryman and his friend were involved in the prior parking lot fight and were a threat to the Latin Kings, prosecutors charge.
Rivera is expected to be arraigned Monday afternoon before US Magistrate Judge Steven Locke.
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