Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – On July 29, Samuel Edgardo Rivera, 44, was shot and killed by Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputies after he reportedly fired on deputies who were attempting to serve a warrant for cocaine possession; the sworn complaint that led to the warrant arose from a traffic stop for a seatbelt violation and was one of three sworn complaints filed against Rivera between September 2023 and January 2024.

Rivera’s interactions with local law enforcement go back to 2007, and by 2016, he had nine felony convictions (five violent) and seven misdemeanor convictions (three violent). He served an 18-month prison sentence for resisting arrest with violence and was released in February 2017. He was arrested in Alachua County in 2022 for an Osceola County child support case, but that was his only appearance in Alachua County court records between 2016 and 2023, other than a lawsuit for defaulting on car payments in 2017 that was dismissed in May 2018 because he could not be located.

On September 6, 2023, Rivera was charged with possession of 0.8 grams of cocaine and possession of drug paraphernalia during a burglary investigation at Woodspring Suites. A sworn complaint was filed, and the charges were later dropped.

On January 5, 2024, an Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy conducted a traffic stop on SW Archer Road for a seatbelt violation and a damaged tag light. Rivera, the front seat passenger in the vehicle, consented to a search, and a deputy reportedly found 4.48 grams of cocaine (1.7 grams of powder cocaine, 2.67 grams of crack cocaine, and one crack rock weighing 0.11 grams) on his person. Rivera was charged via sworn complaint with possession of cocaine but was not arrested.

On January 12, 2024, a Gainesville Police Department officer made contact with Rivera, who was in the front passenger seat of a vehicle, during an investigation in the 1000 block of SW 7th Avenue. The officer noted that a clear glass pipe with burned residue was clearly visible in the passenger side door compartment, and a search of Rivera reportedly found one Adderall pill. Rivera was charged via sworn complaint with possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, and the charge was later dropped.

On April 22, 2025, Judge James Colaw issued a warrant for Rivera’s arrest for the sworn complaint filed after the January 5, 2024, incident, setting bail at $50,000.

When ASO Warrants Investigators arrived at 102 NW 9th Terrace to serve the warrant at 7:49 a.m. on July 29, Rivera allegedly refused to come out of a bedroom and fired a shot at deputies from the bedroom at about 8:17 a.m. Deputies withdrew, secured the perimeter, evacuated the apartment building, closed several blocks of West University Avenue, and waited for additional resources to arrive.

According to a release from ASO, at 11:02 a.m., SWAT deployed a non-lethal chemical agent irritant into the apartment, which is designed to compel a barricaded suspect to surrender. Rivera allegedly responded by firing multiple gunshots through a side window toward deputies.

As additional canisters of chemical agent were deployed, a deputy reported that Rivera briefly exited the bedroom door into the living room while armed with a handgun before retreating back into the bedroom. Deputies continued to issue loud commands for him to drop the weapon. An additional deputy radioed that Rivera appeared at a front window, pointing a handgun at deputies on scene. A member of the ASO SWAT Team fired a single round, striking Rivera. Due to his injuries, Rivera died on scene.