Georgetown man sentenced to life in prison for 2012 murder

A Georgetown man was sentenced to life in prison plus 30 consecutive years for his role in a 2012 murder and home invasion.

Damonte Rivera, 22, was sentenced by Jude Knox McMahon for the murder of Alfonza Thomas, who was with Rivera and other men when they broke into a home and demanded money. Rivera was also sentenced to 30 years for burglary, 30 years for armed robbery and 30 years for kidnapping, according to court records.

The charges stem from an incident on Aug. 30, 2102 when Rivera, Thomas, Anthony Fraser and two other men kicked in the door of a home and demanded money and drugs from the victim, according to a release from the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson.

During the invasion the suspects pointed a gun at a 10-year-old and a toddler, the release said. After the robbery, Rivera and Fraser shot Thomas to death from behind near the Beck Recreation Center in Georgetown.

Thomas was found dead later that day in a wooded area near a path between Legion and Church streets.

“I hope the victims in this case can find peace now that justice has been served,” said Deputy Solicitor Alicia Richardson, who tried the case. “Oour community just became safer with Rivera behind bars.”

The burglary, kidnapping and armed robbery sentences will run concurrently to each other, and the life sentence will run consecutively to the other charges, Judge McMahon said.

Fraser was sentenced to 22 years in prison on Sept. 28 after he pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, armed robbery and burglary. The criminal cases on the other two men involved in the case are still pending, the release said.

This story was originally published October 30, 2015 at 7:28 PM with the headline "Georgetown man sentenced to life in prison for 2012 murder."