A teen suspect has been charged with pulling up next to a rival on a Bronx expressway and fatally shooting him after months of feuding and gunplay, police sources said Monday.
Luis Rivera, 18, has been charged with murder, manslaughter and gun possession for the March 30 death of Nelson Caban.
Caban, 24, was driving south on the Bruckner Expressway in a Honda Accord when the killer pulled up alongside him about 10:30 p.m.
Rivera allegedly fired from inside the sedan, hitting Caban in the chest and face. An accomplice is still being sought.
Caban was still in his seat when police responding to a 911 call found the car stopped next to the median between the Westchester Ave. and E. Tremont Ave. exits. Medics rushed Caban, who lived in East Harlem, to Jacobi Medical Center but he could not be saved.
A 16-year boy was also wounded in that shooting. Both Rivera and the younger victim were uncooperative with police investigating that incident, sources said.
Sometime later, Caban was named as a person of interest in the shooting but had not been arrested or charged when he was killed.
“He wasn’t there,” the relative said. “He was here in my home.”
At the same time, the relative acknowledged long-standing tensions, the origin of which aren’t clear to him, between Caban and Rivera and his friends.
On May 21, 2020, Caban was charged with unauthorized use of a gun on Lacombe Ave. near Commonwealth Ave. The relative said Caban fired a shot in the air in self-defense after he was fired at.
In a later incident, Caban and his girlfriend had to flee for their lives when Caban’s car, which he used as an Uber driver, was shot up, the relative said.
“He was not a troublemaker,” the relative said.
Rivera’s arraignment was pending in Bronx Criminal Court Monday.
He also had a forgery arrest last year, police said. On March 11 he was charged with possession of a knife and unlicensed driving following another car stop, and released without bail after an arraignment last week.