On the Fourth of July in 2015, a day meant for celebration, tragedy struck the life of 41-year-old Hispanic female, Mirta Rivera, in her Lawrence, Massachusetts home. In the early morning hours, while Rivera was asleep in her bed, a bullet tore through the ceiling from the apartment above, striking her in the abdomen. Her boyfriend discovered her and immediately called for help.
Rushed to Lawrence General Hospital, Rivera succumbed to the fatal gunshot wound.
The investigation into her death quickly led police to the upstairs apartment. There, they found three men: Jose Lara-Mejia, 35, Wilton Lara Calmona, 38, and Christopher Paganmoux, 22. A search of their residence revealed a hole in the floor that corresponded with the hole in Rivera’s ceiling. Investigators also discovered a rifle and a significant quantity of heroin and cocaine, leading to the immediate arrest of all three men on drug trafficking charges. The rifle was reported to be consistent with the bullet that killed Rivera.
In the months that followed, the investigation into Rivera’s death continued. On October 2, 2015, an Essex County Grand Jury indicted Jose Lara-Mejia for manslaughter in connection with the shooting. He was also charged with illegal possession of a firearm, discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling, and illegal possession of ammunition. At the time of this indictment, Lara-Mejia was being held on high bail for the unrelated narcotics charges. Reports also surfaced that two of the men, including Lara-Mejia, were undocumented immigrants who had been previously deported. While the legal proceedings for the drug charges against all three men and the manslaughter charge against Lara-Mejia were initiated, publicly available information does not detail the final outcome of the manslaughter case.
