By Michael Morton
Barbara Nieves, 17, of 195th Street was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. Officers later arrested Sammy Rivera, 15, and charged him with her killing, police said.Rivera, who lives at 622 47th St. in Brooklyn, is reputedly a member of the Latin Kings gang and allegedly targeted Nieves because he thought she had insulted his girlfriend, a law enforcement official said. Two other people, a male partygoer and a 20-year-old women, were also shot, but were taken to a Brooklyn hospital in stable condition, police said.The 15-year-old suspect was arrested later that night and arraigned Monday in State Supreme Court in Brooklyn on charges of murder, attempted murder and criminal possession of a weapon, a spokesman for the Brooklyn district attorney said. He was scheduled to return to court Wednesday, and if later convicted of the charges, could face up to 15 years to life in prison. While Rivera's case will be decided in Supreme Court, not in Family Court as is often the case for juveniles, he faces a lighter possible sentence because of his age, the Brooklyn DA spokesman said.On the night of the murder, Rivera asked his father to drive him to an apartment building at 346 54th St. in Brooklyn, the DA spokesman said. When he arrived,, he went upstairs and allegedly opened fire on the crowd, killing Nieves, hitting the 20-year-old woman in the ankle and shoulder, and striking the male partygoer in the leg, the spokesman said. He then went back downstairs and he and his father drove away. After interviewing witnesses, officers surrounded Rivera's car and arrested him, the DA spokesman said. His father was not charged.”He apparently didn't know what the son did,” the DA spokesman said.Nieves' family could not be reached for comment. A 19-year-old neighbor at her apartment building on 195th Street in Hollis said she lived there on and off with her grandmother.”She was always quiet,” said the neighbor, who only gave his first name, Jeff. “She was always by herself.” He did not how long she had lived there or if she had been enrolled in school.Reach reporter Michael Morton by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 154.
