Gunman in Drunken Brawl at Texas Bank Sports Complex Takes Plea Deal

SAN ANGELO- A San Angelo man has signed a plea deal taking responsibility for a shooting that took place at the Texas Bank Sports Complex in May 2021.

According to court documents, investigators met with San Angelo police officers at the Texas Bank Sports Complex, located at 1615 Rio Concho Drive, regarding a shooting. Officers directed the investigator to the crime scene and witnesses. These witnesses told the investigator that an altercation had occurred between two females. Several males started walking towards the alleged altercation and became involved to break it up.

The defendant, Rivera, approached the group and displayed a firearm he had tucked into his waistband. Rivera removed the firearm and fired two or three rounds into the ground. This caused the concrete to chip and also caused bullet fragments to ricochet, striking a victim in the neck.

After discharging the firearm, Rivera fled the area to dispose of the gun and then he would later return without it. When Rivera returned, other subjects who were involved in the initial altercation confronted him. San Angelo police arrived and took Rivera into custody without incident.

At the time, Police said it was too early in the investigation to suggest alcohol was a factor in the incident, though around the field empty boxes of beer were observed. The concessions at the complex managed by the City were not selling alcohol. Witnesses told San Angelo LIVE! that alcohol was brought into the complex in fairly large quantities, as the empty beer boxes observed in the trash cans suggested.

Investigators spoke with the victim, who was participating in a softball game, said a fight broke out. When the victim went to get water, the fight escalated and then gunshots rang out. The victim turned to shield a child and then he felt a sharp burning pain in his left shoulder. He asked a friend if he had been shot and the friend told him he appeared to be “grazed” by a ricochet.

Three other individuals would come forward with injuries caused by Rivera discharging the firearm. Two other individuals said they had been struck by shrapnel in the head and neck area and one victim was a child.

During an interview, Rivera told the investigator that he did have a gun on him and that he did fire several rounds but only in an attempt to keep his friends from being “jumped” by the people in the altercation.

Rivera was indicted in September 2021 for the shooting.

For a guilty plea, Rivera was sentenced to seven years in prison on four counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a controlled substance, and assault of a family member. All the charges will run concurrent with each other and the judge has signed the plea deal.