By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-11-20 02:38:43 | Updated at 2024-11-23 18:39:27
3 days ago
The career criminal accused of fatally stabbing three people in an unprovoked attack across Manhattan reportedly gave cops a chilling reason for how he chose his victims.
Ramon Rivera, 51, allegedly killed 36-year-old construction worker Angel Lata Landi, 67-year-old Chang Wang and 36-year-old Wilma Augustin in his violent rampage Monday morning.
He was taken into custody shortly after the third stabbing, when a brave taxi driver flagged him down to police officers and started to chase him down First Avenue.
Rivera then went on to spend several hours sleeping in a holding cell at New York Central Booking - nicknamed the Tombs, a police source told the New York Daily News.
'He's been sleeping like a baby, without a care in the world,' the source said.
When he finally woke up, Rivera allegedly gave a full confession and waived his Miranda rights, according to the New York Post.
He then allegedly told cops he chose his victims because they were 'alone' and 'distracted' at the time.
Ramon Rivera, 51, is accused of fatally stabbing three people in an unprovoked rampage across Manhattan Monday morning
Among his victims were 36-year-old construction worker Angel Lata Landi (pictured)
Police have said Rivera's stabbing spree began just after 8.20am when he allegedly stabbed Landi in the abdomen as he was waiting to be picked up for work in Chelsea.
Just two hours later, Rivera also allegedly fatally knifed 67-year-old Chang Wang 'multiple times in the body' as he was fishing in the East River.
From there, police say, Rivera stabbed 36-year-old Wilma Augustin near the United Nations building. She succumbed to her injuries at a local hospital overnight.
Rivera was arrested soon after stabbing Augustin, which a cab driver saw and reported to police.
The unidentified driver then gave chase up First Avenue and called out to pedestrians to help in the moments before cops nabbed Rivera at the intersection on East 42nd Street and First Avenue, according to ABC7.
Shocking surveillance footage later obtained by police showed Rivera changing out of a t-shirt and into a sweatshirt, tan trench coat and beanie hat in the moments before he approached Landi.
Rivera was arrested soon after the third stabbing, which a brave cab driver saw and reported to police
A bloody knife recovered at the scene lies on pavement after Rivera was arrested on Monday
The rampage began just after 8.20am and lasted until nearly 11am
But Monday's stabbing spree was not the first time Rivera faced legal trouble.
He had been released from Rikers Island in October, after being arrested on charges of burglary in the third-degree and assault in the third-degree in February, PIX 11 reports.
Police accused him at the time of being responsible for a pattern of burglaries involving smoke shops and bodegas throughout Manhattan, dating back to December 2023.
Rivera ultimately pleaded guilty to the charges in August and was sentenced to nearly a year in prison, but was let out after eight months of time served.
But the day he was released, Rivera was arrested again on grand larceny charges, with prosecutors saying he stole a nearly $1,500 acrylic bowl from a Jonathan Adler shop in Tribeca in December 2023.
Manhattan prosecutors pushed for bail, but a judge ordered him released under supervision.
Rivera was caught on surveillance footage putting on a hoodie, a skullcap and gloves before concealing a large knife in his shirt
In total, Rivera has had at least eight other arrests in the Big Apple and a history of mental health issues.
He spent several days in May in the psych ward of Bellevue Hospital, where cops said he assaulted a corrections officer.
Rivera also had two other mental health incidents between November and December 2023.
Police in Union City, New Jersey, then arrested him in January as a fugitive from justice and a suspect in a theft and Hoboken police took him into custody on two counts of criminal mischief.
But Rivera's criminal career extends beyond the New York City metropolitan area, with a 2017 arrest in Cleveland, Ohio for assault, and multiple arrests in Florida going back to 2003 on charges ranging from domestic violence battery to procuring prostitutes to even drunken driving, the Post reports.
Rivera has had at least eight other arrests in the Big Apple and a history of mental health issues
Citing that long criminal history, Judge Janet McDonnell ordered Rivera held without bail on both the murder counts and a fugitive warrant out of New Jersey, pending extradition hearings for open warrants in the Garden State, Gothamist reports.
Rivera sat stone-faced throughout the hearing, even as Assistant District Attorney Megan Joy recounted how he allegedly attacked three people in the hours-long frenzy Monday morning 'with no provocation.
'Rivera embarked on a bloody and violent rampage that took the lives of three innocent New Yorkers who were doing nothing but going about their day,' she argued.
The suspect did not speak during the hearing, though his lawyer said he declined to enter a plea until a mental health evaluation is complete.
In the meantime, Landi's family is calling for justice.
'He was sick, this person killed my brother and then went and killed two other people,' Vertha Landi told Gothamist.
'I hope the mayor doesn't let him out, that he works together with other [officials] to keep him detained and not let him leave.'
Landi's 16-year-old nephew who he was raising as his own son also told FOX 5 he does not 'understand why if [Rivera] had felonies on him, and he had more than eight charges, why they would still let him out.'
The family said Landi was born in Ecuador and came to the United States 20 years ago to work and save up money, while also taking care of his nephew, whose mother - his sister- had died.
'This news is devastating, because it left us with a huge hole,' Vertha said, arguing Rivera 'didn't have the right to take my brother's life.
