Police Officer Indicted for Theft of Firearms from Police Weapons Vault and Tampering with Multiple Witnesses

 SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – On January 20, 2021, a federal grand jury returned an eight-count indictment charging William Cintrón Rivera, a.k.a. “El Kid”/“Kid”  with the theft of 54 guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition, announced W. Stephen Muldrow, United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico.  A federal grand jury further charged defendant Cintrón Rivera with tampering with multiple witnesses, by requesting that they provide false information to federal investigators. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is in charge of the investigation of the case.

According to the indictment, on July 17, 2019, in the District of Puerto Rico, defendant Cintrón Rivera stole 54 firearms from the Puerto Rico Police Bureau (PRPB), Guayama headquarters.  At the time of the theft, defendant Cintrón Rivera was a police officer in the PRPB.  In addition, the defendant is charged with the possession of six of the stolen firearms and thousands of rounds of ammunition.

In an effort to cover his crime, Cintrón Rivera attempted to intimidate and corruptly persuade M.T.A. and E.C.R. by requesting that they provide false information to federal investigators relevant to the theft, such as Cintrón Rivera’s whereabouts on the night of the crime.

Subsequently, on December 12, 2020, Cintrón Rivera also attempted to intimidate and corruptly persuade G.A.C. by requesting that she falsely provide information to federal investigators regarding (a) the nature and duration of their relationship; (b) Cintrón Rivera’s whereabouts during the timeframe of the theft; (c) the identity of an alleged informant; and (d) communications involving Cintrón Rivera and G.A.C., including payment for an alleged cell phone.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Luis A. Valentin and Jonathan L. Gottfried, Chief of the Violent Crimes and National Security Section, are in charge of the prosecution of the case. If convicted, the defendant faces up to 10 years in prison for each firearms count, and 20 years for each witness-tampering count.  

An indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. Defendants are presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.