NEWBURGH – An alert Newburgh city police officer, who was familiar with Newburgh resident Alberto Rivera, a man wanted as a parole absconder, arrested him on federal drug and gun charges on Tuesday.
When the detective spotted and stopped the 25-year-old riding a bicycle on Broadway in Newburgh, Rivera fled and tossed a backpack containing a firearm and a large quantity of narcotics as he ran. Rivera was captured by the officer in the backyard of a nearby pizzeria. Detectives recovered the backpack from the same backyard.
Rivera is charged with one count with intent to distribute narcotics, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; one count of carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime, which carries a minimum of five years in prison; and one count of being a felon in possession of firearm, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Police Chief Arnold Amthor commended the detective who arrested Rivera. “This department is committed to making the City of Newburgh safer, and to work with the FBI and federal prosecutors to do so where appropriated,” he said.
