COLUMBUS – A suspect has been convicted and sentenced to prison on a reckless homicide charge following a fatal shooting last fall at a Columbus nightclub.
The incident occurred on October 27, when police were called to a nightclub on State Street at 3:39 a.m. after reports of shots being fired. Witnesses stated that an argument escalated, and 43-year-old Pedro Rivera-Ayala fired a gun. One of the bullets struck 32-year-old Bradford Alexander Kendrick Brooks, who was in the vicinity.
Brooks succumbed to his injuries on November 9 at an Indianapolis hospital.
Rivera-Ayala was arrested and initially faced preliminary charges including Pointing a Firearm, Intimidation with a Deadly Weapon, Aggravated Battery, Criminal Recklessness with a Deadly Weapon, and Operating a Motor Vehicle without ever Obtaining a License.
According to the Bartholomew County Prosecutor’s Office, Rivera-Ayala was convicted on Wednesday and sentenced by Superior Court Judge Jim Worton to six years in prison. This represents the maximum penalty for the Level 5 felony charge of reckless homicide.
