Ocala man sentenced to 15 years in prison for shooting friend in the abdomen

Staff report

Updated at 7:40 p.m. to clarify the charge.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Fabian Marcel Rivera, 25, of Ocala, has been sentenced to 15 years in state prison after entering a plea of nolo contendere to attempted second degree murder; Rivera was arrested in September 2024 for shooting a woman he was hanging out with near the UF campus.

At about 3:34 a.m. on September 22, 2024,, a Gainesville Police Department officer responded to the 1700 block of NW 1st Avenue and found a female victim on the sidewalk with a gunshot to her abdomen. The victim was transported to a hospital and reportedly went straight into surgery.

The officer’s investigation found that the victim was with the alleged shooter and two other people who all claimed to be acquaintances of the victim. In surveillance video reviewed by officers, the victim and Rivera appeared to be speaking with each other, then Rivera took a drink from a can and the victim reached into the vehicle and grabbed a drink can. The video reportedly showed Rivera looking down at the center console, looking back up at the victim holding the drink, then quickly extending his right arm up, pointing the gun at the victim, and firing once. Rivera reportedly stared at the victim for about 30 seconds and then got out of the vehicle, threw the drink can into the bushes, and fled the area.

According to a WUFT report, the victim later told WUFT reporters that she believed the shooting was an accident. “He was drunk and didn’t know it was loaded, we were just joking around,” she wrote in a text message to a reporter. “I tried to drop the charges, I was friends with him for a long time before the accident. I think the sentencing is too long,” she wrote. “I think he should have received less time. I don’t think the sentencing was fair.”

According to the plea agreement, the maximum sentence for the charge is 20 years, and the minimum mandatory sentence is 10 years. Judge James Colaw sentenced Rivera to 15 years in state prison, with credit for 201 days served.