Amanda Jean Burns, a 21-year-old female, died on October 26, 2005, in Lansingburgh, New York, after being shot. The incident occurred just before midnight in an alley off 102nd Street and Sixth Avenue as she sat in the passenger seat of a Jeep Cherokee. The cause of death was a gunshot wound from a 9mm handgun.
Prosecutors alleged that Alberto 'A.J.' Rivera killed Burns because she was prepared to provide a police statement identifying him as a suspect in an arson case. Rivera was subsequently arrested and charged with her murder. In 2007, he was convicted of second-degree murder and weapons charges, receiving a sentence of 25 years to life for the murder and 15 years for the weapons charges, to be served concurrently.
However, this conviction was later overturned by a mid-level appeals court. The appellate court ruled that the jury in the first trial should have been given the option to consider a lesser charge of second-degree manslaughter. Despite the murder conviction being thrown out, Rivera remained incarcerated on the weapons charges, which were upheld.
A new trial was held, and in April 2011, Rivera was found guilty of the lesser charge of second-degree manslaughter. He was then sentenced to the maximum of 15 years in prison for the killing of Amanda Burns. During the legal proceedings, it was suggested by the defense that Burns's former boyfriend, who was with her in the vehicle when she was shot, may have been involved, but he never cooperated with authorities and was not charged. Another individual, Derrick Rosa, was mentioned as having supplied Rivera with the gun and served time for that offense.
