Bradenton Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for 2022 Murder of Father-in-Law
A Manatee County judge has sentenced Ruben Pioquinto, currently 33, to life in prison following his conviction for the brutal 2022 murder of his father-in-law, 33-year-old Anderson Guerra Rivera.
Pioquinto was found guilty in November of second-degree murder after a four-day jury trial. The life sentence was handed down Friday, according to court records.
The investigation began on January 19, 2022, when Guerra Rivera’s family reported him missing and possibly murdered. A 15-year-old boy, the victim’s stepson, provided a harrowing account to police that helped crack the case. He told detectives that Pioquinto had fatally shot Guerra Rivera in the head while they were driving together in a vehicle, with the teen in the back seat.
According to the arrest affidavit, Pioquinto had fired warning shots earlier in the evening and pointed a gun at a man outside the vehicle. Later, he turned the weapon on Guerra Rivera, asked him if he was afraid to die, and then shot him at point-blank range.
Pioquinto allegedly drove with the victim’s body in the passenger seat and the boy beside him until they reached a bridge on U.S. Highway 19 in Palmetto. There, he forced the teen to drag the body from the vehicle and leave it roadside. The boy told investigators that Pioquinto pointed a gun at him and threatened to kill him if he spoke about the incident. During the drive, Pioquinto reportedly slapped and attempted to bite the teen.
They returned home, where Pioquinto ordered the boy to sleep on the couch so he could keep an eye on him. The next morning, a family member asked about Guerra Rivera’s whereabouts, prompting the teen to reveal what had occurred.
Authorities arrested Pioquinto shortly thereafter. Now, nearly three years later, the court has delivered a life sentence, bringing a chilling case to a close that shocked the Bradenton community.
