BUFFALO, NY – Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announces that 26-year-old Hommys Rivera-Lopez of Niagara Falls pleaded guilty this morning before State Supreme Court Justice Christopher J. Burns to one count of Manslaughter in the First Degree (Class “B” violent felony).
The defendant admitted that he fatally shot 31-year-old Emmanuel Correa-Villegas with an illegal firearm in the vicinity of Letchworth and Dart streets in the City of Buffalo on October 16, 2018.
After the homicide, the defendant fled to Puerto Rico where he was located by the U.S. Marshals Service. He waived extradition and was returned to Buffalo to be prosecuted in September 2019.
Rivera-Lopez faces a maximum of 25 years in prison when he is sentenced on Wednesday, May 26, 2021 at 9:30 a.m. He remains held without bail.
DA Flynn commends Detective Sgt. Carl Lundin, Detective Adam Stephany, and retired Detective James Kaska of the Buffalo Police Department and members of the U.S. Marshals Violent Felony Task Force for their work in the investigation and apprehension.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Ashley M. Morgan of the DA’s Homicide Bureau and Assistant District Attorney Briana R. D. Miller of the DA’s Felony Trials Bureau.