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COLLINS – The man who allegedly held a woman hostage during an hours long standoff on the Cattaraugus Reservation in Collins this month has been formally charged in the crime.
The Erie County District Attorney’s Office says 43-year-old Hiram Rivera was arraigned virtually for felony second-degree kidnapping and second-degree criminal use of a firearm, second-degree menacing and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
New York State Police say Rivera, who was wanted in connection with a home invasion in the Town of Stockton, fled troopers in a high-speed chase on Tuesday, June 8.
That chase, police say, ended after Rivera slammed into another car, which started on fire.
When Rivera got out of his car, video showed him taking a passenger inside as a hostage. He dragged the woman into a wooded area near Versailles Plank Road. Police say he was armed with a handgun and a knife.
The woman was released in good health before Rivera was taken into custody.
Rivera could spend 25 years in prison if convicted in the case.
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