A Manhattan judge threw the proverbial book Tuesday at the Tompkins Square Park shooter who pleaded guilty to wounding two people in the East Village greenspace last year and voided his plea deal because he allegedly assaulted a Rikers Island correction officer.
Waldemar Alverio was originally scheduled to appear in Manhattan Supreme Court on April 1 for sentencing after admitting to attempted murder charges for two separate shootings at the East Village park in two days in March 2024 — but lost any chance of a lenient sentence because he allegedly sucker-punched a prison guard while in custody on Rikers in February.
Prosecutors urged Judge Laura Ward to nullify Alverio’s plea deal over the assault because he violated the terms following his latest arrest on Feb. 6 for the jail assault. The jurist complied after video footage shown in court on April 1 appeared to depict Alverio standing by a cell door at around 11:59 a.m. on Feb. 6 before he engaged in a verbal argument with two officers.
As things escalated, he swung twice at a cop, missing the first punch but landing the second across the guard’s face. A legion of correction officers, shown wearing gas masks, then arrived on the scene and pepper-sprayed Alverio.
Waldemar Alverio.Photo by Dean MosesThe assaulted guard needed medical treatment and suffered bruising as a result of the attack.
“I would ask that the court consider increasing the defendant’s penalty to something above the 13 years that he was promised by the court,” Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Joseph Abrams said.
Alverio was already facing over a decade behind bars for a series of shootings in Tompkins Square Park that caused property damage and injured two people.
According to court documents, Alverio attempted to shoot at two men who attacked him at around 12:45 p.m. on March 16, 2024.
Firing wildly, he struck one of the men in the buttocks, fracturing his pelvis and lodging a bullet in his hip. A stray shot, meanwhile, struck a 53-year-old tourist who was visiting the Big Apple to see her son.
Only five days later, on March 21, Alverio was back in the park and at it again. This time, he approached a group of individuals and opened fire about five times. Although nobody was injured this time around, a bullet burst through a window into an apartment bedroom building across the street from the park, while another bullet smashed through a window and lodged in a stairwell.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Judge Ward appeared to agree with the prosecutor’s recommendation to face a longer stint.
“What you did in Tompkins Square Park is a fear a lot of New Yorkers and out-of-towners have, that they will be the victims of violence in New York City, especially gun violence. I am going sentence you, as people have now requested, to 15 years in jail and five years post-release supervision,” Judge Ward said.
Meanwhile, Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg stated that parks in the Big Apple should always be safe while reaffirming his pledge to fight gun violence.
“Waldemar Alverio is facing accountability for a pair of shootings in Tompkins Square Park that injured two and threatened the safety of many other bystanders. Parks must be safe havens for Manhattanites to gather and spend time with their friends and family, and nobody should have to worry they will be struck by a bullet in the middle of the day,” Bragg said. “Combatting gun violence remains my top priority and we will continue to prosecute those who use illegal firearms, while also making investments in our communities to address the root causes of shootings.”
