In the late evening of August 20, 2016, the life of 45-year-old Henry Liriano-Aquino was tragically cut short in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Police responded to reports of gunfire near the intersection of Hummel and Swatara Streets and found Liriano-Aquino unresponsive on the ground. He had sustained a gunshot wound to his head and succumbed to his injuries while being transported to the hospital. The Dauphin County Coroner later officially ruled his death a homicide. An autopsy would later reveal that Liriano-Aquino had been shot twice, once in the head and once in the left thigh. The pathologist determined that the fatal shot was the one to the head, fired from a distance of at least three to four feet.
The investigation into the shooting led law enforcement to a state parole violator named Edgardo Rivera. On the morning of August 26, 2016, a team comprised of Harrisburg Police and members of the United States Marshal Service Fugitive Task Force located and arrested Rivera without incident outside a residence on King George Drive. A subsequent search of the property uncovered a. 40 caliber handgun, a significant quantity of uncut heroin valued at over $6,000, drug packaging materials, and more than $3,200 in cash.
Rivera faced a litany of charges related to the death of Liriano-Aquino, including Criminal Homicide, Recklessly Endangering Another Person, and several firearms offenses due to his status as a former convict. In addition to the homicide charges, he was also charged with multiple drug-related offenses, including Possession with Intent to Deliver Heroin. Rivera's wife, Denise Rivera, was also taken into custody and charged with various drug and firearm possession offenses.
Edgardo Rivera was ultimately convicted by a jury of first-degree murder for the shooting death of Henry Liriano-Aquino. He also faced convictions for recklessly endangering another person and a firearms violation. On August 18, 2017, he was sentenced to a mandatory life term in prison.
