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Councilman faces prison for violent attack on a homeless man

A councilman in Riverdale Park, Md., resigned immediately after he was found guilty of a violent attack on a homeless man.

By Frances Burns
A baseball bat. File photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI
A baseball bat. File photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo

UPPER MARLBORO, Md., Nov. 26 (UPI) -- A councilman in a Washington suburb faces at least five years in prison for attacking a homeless man with a baseball bat and gun, prosecutors said.

Raymond Rivas, who manages an apartment complex in Riverdale Park, Md., was found guilty Tuesday of assault and use of a gun in a violent crime. The second charge carries a mandatory sentence of at least five years.

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Rivas faces a theoretical sentence of as much as 50 years.

Rivas is to be sentenced in January. Mayor Vernon Archer said Rivas called him to resign soon after thhe verdict.

"This behavior will not be tolerated and Mr. Rivas deserves to spend time in jail to consider the life he endangered," state's attorney Angela Alsobrooks said.

Investigators said Rivas became enraged when he saw the homeless man leaning against a fence at the Park Tanglewood complex. They said Rivas had had previous encounters with the man.

Rivas was charged with beating the man with a bat and then following him in his car. He pointed the gun at the man's head before firing a shot at the ground.

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