BRICK – A township teen has been charged with attempted murder and weapons offenses stemming from an incident last October that rocked Ocean County.
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced on March 3 that 16-year-old Luis Rivas, 16, had been charged with four counts of Attempted Murder; Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose; and Unlawful Possession of a Weapon.
Rivas was 16 years old when the crimes occurred, voluntarily waived jurisdiction of the Family Court — which typically handles juvenile delinquency matters — and agreed to be prosecuted as an adult.
Around 1:45 p.m. on Oct. 22, 2019, Township Police responded to a report of a student who had sustained a gunshot wound at Brick Memorial High School.
An investigation revealed that the student was walking home from school with three friends when he was shot approximately one-quarter mile away from Brick Memorial.
The victim ran back to the school for help and as a precaution, police and school officials locked down the high school as well as neighboring schools before determining there was no immediate danger to students.
The gunshot victim was treated at Ocean Medical Center in Brick Township and subsequently released.
Video surveillance footage reviewed by detectives from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit, Brick Township Police Department, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Department, from nearby residences revealed that Rivas and a second juvenile acting together and in support of one another carried out the shooting.
Rivas was apprehended on October 26, 2019, and has been lodged in the Ocean County Juvenile Detention Center since that time. The second juvenile is likewise lodged in the Juvenile Detention Center, and his matter remains pending in Family Court at present.
Prosecutor Billhimer thanked Chief Juvenile Assistant Prosecutor Anthony Pierro and Assistant Prosecutor Madeline Buczynski who have handled the case on behalf of the State.
He also acknowledged the hard work and persistence of all of the law enforcement agencies involved in this investigation: Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit; Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit; Brick Township Police Department; Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit; Ocean County Sheriff’s Office; Toms River Township Police Department; Lakewood Township Police Department; Bay Head Borough Police Department; Point Pleasant Beach Police Department; Asbury Park Police Department; Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit; Monmouth County Emergency Response Team; Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office; New Jersey State Police; New Jersey State Police Regional Operations and Intelligence Center; and the United States Marshals Service.
