ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) –Confronting the man who threatened her life, an Albuquerque grandma had her day in court facing the person who broke into her home, whom she eventually shot.
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The man who was shot is Joseph Rivera, who was sentenced to prison time on Monday. The woman who shot him took the stand, asked the judge to give him the max sentence while sharing the moment she shot Rivera to protect her granddaughters’ lives.
“The fear in her voice, the ways she cloaked me, it was the most difficult moment of the entire night. It broke my heart, but I knew I had to do everything I could to keep her safe,” Anissa Tinnin, victim of shot home invasion.
Last year, Rivera stole a car, which Albuquerque police followed into the North Valley near Candelaria and Rio Grande.
An officer eventually hit Rivera’s tires with stop sticks before he got out of the car and ran off. He eventually ran to a North Valley home where Anissa Tinnin was with her four-year-old granddaughter. Rivera broke into the home and demanded Tinnin’s car keys, but the first pair of keys he took didn’t work.
Eventually, Rivera forced his way back into the home, but this time Tinnin had a gun. She shot Rivera after he kept coming toward her despite being warned that she would shoot.
The defense asked the judge for six years, arguing that Rivera has had a tough upbringing, but the judge felt differently.
“Looking at your criminal history, you’re someone who has been given the opportunity, and you didn’t take advantage of drug court in the past. With this plea, you are clearly going to spend some time in the Department of Corrections,” said Judge Joseph Montaño.
Judge Montaño eventually sentenced Rivera to eight years behind bars and four years of probation. Rivera did not address the judge or the victim. His sentence comes after taking a deal to avoid trial, pleading guilty to stolen car and home burglary charges.
In the past, Rivera has at least four prior convictions on his record for charges including car theft and drug possession.