LANCASTER – A judge sentenced a Lancaster man to 10 and a half to 21 years in state prison after he pleaded guilty in taking part in a botched robbery of a stolen handgun that resulted in one of his co-conspirators being shot to death. 24-year-old Luis Rivera pleaded guilty to committing aggravated assault, robbery, and other charges. Rivera told police that he and co-conspirators Jorge Santiago and James Diggs had planned to rob the 17-year-old victim of the handgun the night of Dec. 9, 2022. The three men had arranged a trade with the juvenile for the weapon; with Rivera telling police their plan was to physically take the firearm by force rather than making the exchange. That plan went awry when the juvenile realized the three were planning on strong-arming him for the gun and a physical struggle began. Diggs shot the juvenile with a separate firearm that he had brought. The juvenile returned fire and shot Diggs five times. Police arrived at the scene in the 400 block of Ruby Street to find Diggs dead and the juvenile with gunshot wounds. The teen’s act of returning fire was determined to be a justifiable act of self-defense. Santiago is still pending prosecution on a number of charges.
LUIS RIVERA