John Rivera was 29 and a father when he was shot in the head at close range during an early morning outing on Saturday, August 20, 2022. Rivera, a manager at a local Sonic who had just received a promotion, was sharing bottles of cognac with friends inside his Nissan Rogue while driving around Springfield. The shooting occurred in the 0-100 block of Longhill Street; he was taken to Baystate Medical Center, where he died from his injuries.

Springfield Police and the Hampden District Attorney’s murder unit identified Ricky L. Brown as a suspect and secured an arrest warrant on August 24, 2022. Brown was later arrested March 22, 2023, and faced murder and multiple firearms charges at Hampden Superior Court. The trial in late May 2026 included witnesses who gave conflicting accounts about whether Brown made a statement before the shooting and about what was said. After jury deliberations that were briefly deadlocked, Ricky Brown was acquitted of murder and all related charges in early June 2026.

The killing of John Rivera remains unsolved. Anyone with information about what happened on Longhill Street that night is asked to come forward.