A Lancaster city man was convicted of third-degree murder, conspiracy to commit third-degree murder and carrying a firearm without a license for killing a man in a drive-by shooting in May of 2019 on the 500 block of East Chestnut Street.

Ryan Rivera, now 24 of the 500 block of Third Street, was convicted by a jury on November 19 in Lancaster County Court.

The jury heard testimony and saw evidence that Rivera and another man confronted Tyreek Gardner on the 300 block of East Fulton Street after Rivera and Gardner had crossed paths earlier in the night.

The other man with Rivera punched Gardner, who ran from them on Tobacco Avenue toward North Shippen Street. Rivera and the other man each fired at the victim but did not strike him. Shell casings were recovered on Tobacco Avenue.

Rivera and the other man returned to the corner of East Fulton Street and North Plum Street and video footage showed Rivera pointing at Gardner as he ran by onto Chestnut Street.

Shortly after, Rivera and the other man got into a Volkswagen Passat, which was captured on video surveillance driving down Chestnut to catch up with the victim. Additional video captured the audio of the shots being fired.

The other man involved in the incident was a key witness in the case, who the defense argued was untrustworthy in his closing statement.

First Deputy District Attorney Travis Anderson countered in his closing statement, arguing the co-conspirator, regardless of his history, is the only one to know exactly what happened that night in May 2019.

“If you want to know what happened in a sewer, you have to ask a rat,” Anderson said.

Anderson sought a first-degree murder verdict.

“This case is not about who fired the fatal shot,” Anderson said. “We have irrefutably a plan to find this man and kill this man. This was a common plan to find, attack and ultimately kill the victim.”

Charges remain pending against Rivera’s two codefendants.

The jury returned its verdict around 1 p.m. on Friday, November 19 after listening to three days of testimony. The attorneys gave their closing arguments Thursday morning before County Judge Dennis Reinaker instructed jurors on the law to be applied during deliberations, which began Thursday afternoon.

Sentencing will occur at a later date.

Assistant District Attorney Elaine Preli assisted with the prosecution.

Lancaster City Bureau of Police Detective Sergeant Thomas Ginder filed charges and attended the entirety of the trial.

MEDIA CONTACT: Sean McBryan, semcbryan@co.lancaster.pa.us; Twitter: @SeanMcBryanLanc.