On the night of Feb. 6, 2025, Jayron Rivera, his best friend and six others went to Lake Avenue in Yonkers looking for Yorky Tineo.
The friend testified in Westchester County Court this week that they were going to fight Tineo, but insisted it was going to be with their fists even though they had knives in their pockets.
But inside Mickey's Pizzeria after they found him there, it was only Tineo who pulled out a knife, stabbing Rivera and then Tyler King-Mellanson just outside the door as he fled.
"He lunged at Jayron and got him," the friend testified on questioning by Assistant District Attorney Lana Hochheiser, adding that his group hadn't pulled out any weapons. "I didn't see nobody with anything."
stabbings of two teens at Yonkers pizzeria
Tineo, 19, is on trial charged for second-degree murder in the deaths of the two 16-year-olds. Prosecutors contend it was an unjustified killing as Tineo faced no immediate threat from the unarmed crowd. His lawyers counter that Tineo acted in self-defense as he reasonably feared for his safety while surrounded by rivals and after being stabbed by Rivera several months earlier.
The bad blood started early in 2024 when the witness began hanging out with a girl who had dated a friend of Tineo's. He said he and Tineo's friend twice got into fistfights over the issue.
But by June 22, 2024, Rivera himself was at the center of the conflict. That afternoon the two groups had a confrontation at a park near the witness' home. The witness testified that he and Rivera left but soon went to a neighborhood deli. He claimed that they were confronted again, with Tineo brandishing a knife and one of his friends pulling Rivera out of the store.
The witness was soon chased by that man and another teen, one of whom could be seen on video holding a knife. But back near the deli, Tineo lay injured from a stab wound to the back. The witness said he did not see it happen but told police later that the stabbing occurred after Rivera disarmed Tineo.
Tineo did not cooperate with police and no charges were ever brought in his stabbing. The two who chased Rivera's friend were arrested but charges were eventually dropped. Rivera and his friend were each sent to live with relatives in Nebraska and California, respectively. The witness and Rivera's mother testified it was for their safety. Tineo's lawyers contend it was because they feared arrest in connection with the stabbing of their client.
The friend returned to New York later that summer. But Rivera did not come back until early February 2025, days before the fatal confrontation at Mickey's.
The witness said finding Tineo was part of the reason the group went to Lake Avenue on the night of Feb. 6. He acknowledged that they were looking to fight Tineo, angry that he had been the reason they were forced to leave New York. King-Mellanson was part of the group, though he and another friend waited outside.
Video played for the jury showed the six enter the pizzeria after they saw Tineo and a friend of his inside.
They walked past Tineo, with Rivera smacking his first into his hand. When Tineo asked if that was Jayron and Neto, the witness' nickname, they answered that it was.
Tineo then circled around his friend as Rivera moved closer, and with one lunge Tineo stabbed Rivera in the chest, sending him to the floor. Tineo then raced out of the pizzeria, stabbing King-Mallanson, who had started recording with his cell phone, as he exited. King-Mallanson stumbled into the street, where he collapsed.
Rivera made his way outside before collapsing down the block. His friend acknowledged that he had a knife in his pocket and that he removed a knife from Rivera's pocket before police arrived, though authorities contend they were unaware of that before this summer.
On cross examination, defense lawyer Katie Wasserman asked if he hid the knives because he "wanted police to think Yorky was the only one who brought a knife to a fistfight."
He denied hiding the weapons because the group had intended to use them. He claimed he worried Rivera would not get proper medical attention if police at the scene knew they were armed. He also wanted to make sure he would be able to keep Rivera's knife because it held sentimental value to him. "It was the only thing I had left of Jayron's," he said.
Jurors learned that the witness has criminal charges pending in the Bronx, Manhattan and Connecticut, including gang assault and robbery, but were not given the underlying details of those cases.
Tineo faces up to 15 years to life on each murder charge if convicted. The trial before Westchester Judge Maurice Dean Williams resumes on Tuesday, Sept. 22.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Exclusive| Friend of Yonkers fatal stabbing victim testifies at murder trial
