BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — A Dunkirk man has been sentenced to prison in connection to a hostage situation in June 2021.
The Erie County District Attorney's Office announced that 44-year-old Hiram R. Rivera was sentenced in State Supreme Court to a determinate sentence of seven years in prison followed by five years of post-release supervision. He was sentenced as a second violent felony offender.
According to the district attorney's office on June 8, 2021 Rivera and another individual were at the female victim's home in Silver Creek when the female victim told Rivera the police were searching for him in connection to a crime that occurred earlier that morning in Chautauqua County. Rivera then attempted to abduct the female victim by forcing her at gunpoint out of her apartment and into her vehicle. Rivera sat in the rear seat, placed the female victim in the passenger seat and had the other individual drive.
New York State police attempted to stop the vehicle and the driver continued at a high rate of speed for nearly 10 miles before crashing into the rear of another vehicle on Route 438 near Versailles Plank Road in the Town of Collins.
Following the crash, Rivera dragged the victim out of the vehicle while armed with a hammer and what appeared to be a pistol and attempted to hold the female victim against her will in a wooded area. Rivera surrendered after nearly three hours of hostage negotiations and the victim was unharmed. A pellet gun was recovered after he was taken into custody.
Rivera pleaded guilty to one count of attempted kidnapping in the second degree in April.
According to the district attorney's office, his sentence for his conviction in Erie County will be served consecutive to his sentence for his conviction in Chautauqua County. A final order of protection was issued on behalf of the victim and remains in effect until 2037.
