The career criminal accused of fatally stabbing three people in an unprovoked attack across Manhattan reportedly told police a disturbing reason for choosing his victims. Ramon Rivera, 51, allegedly murdered 36-year-old construction worker Angel Lata Landi, 67-year-old Chang Wang, and 36-year-old Wilma Augustin during his violent spree on Monday morning.
He was arrested shortly after the third stabbing when a hero taxi driver flagged him down to the police officers and began chasing him down First Avenue. According to a police source who spoke to the New York Daily News, Rivera then spent several hours sleeping in a holding cell at New York Central Booking, also known as the Tombs.
Bizarre Reason Behind Stabbings
"He's been sleeping like a baby, without a care in the world," the source said. After waking up, Rivera reportedly confessed in full and waived his Miranda rights, according to the New York Post.
He allegedly told police he selected his victims because they were "alone" and "distracted" at the time of the attack.
According to police, Rivera's stabbing spree began just after 8:20 a.m. when he allegedly attacked Landi, stabbing him in the abdomen while he was waiting for a ride to work in Chelsea.
Two hours later, Rivera is said to have fatally stabbed 67-year-old Chang Wang "multiple times in the body" while Wang was fishing in the East River.
Police said that Rivera then attacked 36-year-old Wilma Augustin near the United Nations building, and she later died from her wounds at a local hospital.
Rivera was arrested shortly after Augustin's stabbing when a taxi driver saw the attack and alerted authorities. The unidentified driver chased Rivera up First Avenue, shouting for help from pedestrians, before police caught Rivera at the intersection of East 42nd Street and First Avenue, according to ABC7.
Shocking surveillance footage obtained by police showed Rivera changing from a t-shirt into a sweatshirt, tan trench coat, and beanie hat shortly before approaching Landi.
Long Rap Sheet
Monday's stabbing rampage wasn't Rivera's first encounter with the law. He had been released from Rikers Island in October after being arrested in February on charges of third-degree burglary and third-degree assault, according to PIX 11.
At the time, police accused him of being behind a series of burglaries targeting smoke shops and bodegas across Manhattan, starting in December 2023.
Court documents reveal that Rivera was arrested again on the same day he was released, facing a grand larceny charge for allegedly stealing a nearly $1,500 acrylic bowl from the upscale Jonathan Adler store in Tribeca in December 2023, according to the New York Post.
Manhattan prosecutors sought bail, but a judge ordered his release under non-monetary conditions, with a court appearance scheduled for December 4, according to the records.
Sources indicate that Rivera has been arrested at least eight times in New York City and has a long history of mental health struggles and run-ins with law enforcement across multiple states.
While many aspects of Rivera's background remained unclear as of Monday evening, the available information paints a picture of a troubled and sometimes violent individual who has lived outside the law for decades.
His most recent time in custody began on February 19, when NYPD officers arrested him in connection with a series of burglaries in Manhattan, sources reported.
The burglaries went back to December 2023, when a thief shattered the glass doors and windows of bodegas and smoke shops, stealing thousands of dollars worth of cigarettes, vapes, and lighters, sources said.
In May, Rivera was placed in the psych ward at Bellevue Hospital, where authorities say he assaulted a corrections officer, according to sources.
By August, he pleaded guilty to burglary and was sentenced to 364 days in prison, sources revealed. The following month, he also pleaded guilty to the assault on the corrections officer, receiving a 90-day sentence to be served concurrently with his burglary term.
Rivera was eventually released after serving three-quarters of his main sentence, which totaled to nine months, sources reported. His encounters with the NYPD also included two mental health incidents in November and December 2023, according to sources.
As the NYPD considered Rivera a suspect in the burglaries, he was arrested in January by police in Union City, New Jersey, as a fugitive and suspect in a theft, sources said. Around the same time, Hoboken police took him into custody on two charges of criminal mischief.
Rivera also has a lengthy criminal history in multiple states. He was arrested in 2017 in Cleveland, Ohio, for assault, sources added. In Florida, authorities had arrested him multiple times since 2003 on charges ranging from domestic violence battery to soliciting prostitutes and driving under the influence, according to sources.
