Ramon Rivera NYC stabbing suspect kills 3 in random killing spree across Manhattan. Career criminal with mental health issues had been released early following previous convictions, including committing another crime on the day of his release last month only to be allowed to remain free.
A recently released felon with an extensive criminal history and mental health issues who had been released after only serving 8 months of a one year jail sentencing has admitted to a deadly stabbing spree across NYC’s Manhattan on Monday which left three people dead.
Ramon Rivera, 51, identified by sources as the person of interest in the bloodbath, was released from jail Oct. 17 on a time-served sentence for a spate of recent burglary and assault convictions after spending most of this year behind bars, police sources told the nypost.
How was career criminal felon with mental health issues able to remain free?
The ‘separate’ stabbings which took place during broad daylight across Manhattan left 3 dead, including a 51 year old un-named woman (who succumbed to her injuries Monday night), a 36-year-old male construction worker along with a 68-year-old man who was fishing in the East River.
The attacks took place along West 19th st and 8th ave, East 42nd st and First Ave and East 3oth st at the FDR Promenade. The victims were going about their lives when they were randomly attacked and killed, NYC Mayor Eric Adams said in a Monday night press conference.
Rivera, a homeless man with an extensive criminal record and reported mental health ailments, allegedly confessed to the unprovoked stabbings that began in the morning and crossed the full width of the borough.
The stabbing spree has since ignited questions as to how the career felon with a history of mental illness could walk free, despite his recent convictions.
‘We are still looking over his record, but there’s a real question on why he was on the street,’ NYC Mayor Eric Adams said.
Court records show Rivera was arrested again on the day of his release on a grand larceny charge after prosecutors said he stole a nearly $1,500 acrylic bowl from the luxurious Jonathan Adler shop in Tribeca in December 2023.
Manhattan prosecutors pushed for bail following last month’s arrest, with a judge ordering him released on non-monetary conditions ahead of a Dec. 4 court date, records show.
Sources revealed Rivera has at least eight past arrests in New York City, a history of mental health issues and years of police run-ins crisscrossing several states.
Rivera’s latest stint behind bars began Feb. 19, when NYPD officers arrested him in connection to a pattern of burglaries in Manhattan, sources said.
Rivera stayed in custody in Rikers Island for months as prosecutors combined the burglary counts into a single indictment, sources said.
In May, Rivera spent several days in Bellevue Hospital’s psych ward, where authorities said he assaulted a corrections officer, the sources said.
Why was career felon with extensive history released early?
By August, Rivera copped a guilty plea to burglary and received a 364-day sentence, sources told the nypost. The next month, Rivera pleaded guilty to assaulting the corrections officer, earning a 90-day term to be served concurrently with his burglary sentence, according to sources.
Rivera pleaded guilty to the charges in August 2024 and was sentenced to 364 days but was released after 8 months of time served, PIX11 reported.
Rivera also has a criminal record in several other states.
He also was arrested during 2017 in a Cleveland, Ohio, assault case, sources said. Florida authorities had arrested him several times going back to 2003 on charges ranging from domestic violence battery to procuring prostitutes to drunken driving, according to sources.
