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Tampa police: Friends say missing 19-year-old smoked synthetic marijuana before he drowned

 
Bruce Kevin Rivera, 19, was found in the Hills-borough River on Sept. 7.
Bruce Kevin Rivera, 19, was found in the Hills-borough River on Sept. 7.
Published Nov. 29, 2015

TAMPA — A 19-year-old college student went missing and was later found dead on Sept. 7, floating in the Hillsborough River. A two-month investigation into Bruce Rivera's death concluded with a medical examiner's ruling that his death was an accidental drowning.

A police report, released this month after Tampa police closed the case, revealed additional details about the circumstances of Rivera's disappearance. Among them: two witnesses said Rivera smoked synthetic marijuana before he vanished.

After Rivera smoked the drug, also known as "Spice," he became sick, the two men told police. He started throwing up inside his car before running off near the Tampa Greyhound Track. They said they tried to find him, but gave up and returned his car to his grandmother's home.

The next day, Rivera was found in the river beneath the Interstate 275 overpass.

The investigation's results do not sit well with Rivera's family. They remain angry, grief-stricken, and haunted by the tragic circumstances.

"Every night, I go to bed, and I pray," said Maria Vazquez, his grandmother. "And I see my grandson, floating in the river."

The family knew something was wrong early Sept. 6 when Rivera's white Kia pulled up outside Vazquez's home in the Terrace Park area of Tampa.

Inside were Edwin Carrion, 30, and Jaylen Perez, 19. Carrion was a friend of Rivera's, one his family did not care for. Carrion told the family Rivera had been with him, but he had lost track of him near the city pool in Sulphur Springs.

The family grew suspicious and called police. The next day, Sept. 7, officers searched the area by air and ground.

Rivera's body was found about 10:40 a.m. that morning. A police dive team pulled it from the river. There were no signs of trauma to the body.

When detectives visited the family, Rivera's grandmother said she had cleaned vomit from the passenger seat inside her grandson's Kia, according to the police report, and threw away a vomit-stained shirt that she thought belonged to him.

That afternoon, detectives questioned Carrion. Detectives said he told them he and Perez had been hanging out with Rivera the night before.

Carrion said he and Rivera also smoked Spice, according to the report. Carrion said he was driving Rivera's car when Rivera began to vomit.

They pulled off I-275 into the dog track parking lot. Carrion said he called 911 and asked for an ambulance. Carrion said he called off the ambulance when Rivera seemed better.

Carrion said Rivera later became angry, demanded the car keys, and began to chase him, according to the report. Carrion said he didn't want Rivera to drive, as he seemed to still be under the influence of the drug. Eventually, Carrion said Rivera ran off toward Nebraska Avenue, the report said.

When told that Rivera had been found dead, a detective noted that Carrion "appeared genuinely upset," the report stated.

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Perez, in a separate interview, gave a similar account. He denied smoking the drug. But when he went back to the dog track with a detective, the report said he pointed out a water bottle and a damp T-shirt that still lay on the pavement. It was where they tried to calm Rivera down by pouring water on him, he said.

Police records backed their story. Investigators obtained a recording of the 911 call in which Carrion said his friend was having a seizure. Two police officers encountered Carrion and Perez. The officers said the two men told them Rivera had "flipped out and run off." The officers helped search for Rivera for about a half hour.

On Nov. 3, the medical examiner reported that a toxicology screening of Rivera's blood found no trace of illegal chemical substances. But that is not uncommon in cases where the use of synthetic marijuana is suspected.

The herbal-based drugs, designed to mimic the effects of marijuana, have varying chemical formulas, which are not always detected in standardized tests.

"They change so fast that it's very difficult to keep up with very slight chemical changes," said Dr. Laura Hair, the assistant medical examiner who conducted Rivera's autopsy, in a recent interview.

"Unfortunately, there were no eyewitnesses and no video to tell us exactly what happened in this tragic case," Tampa police spokesman Steve Hegarty said in a statement. "Our detectives conducted a very thorough investigation, interviewing everyone who might shed some light on the circumstances that led up to Mr. Rivera's death.

"Ultimately, the medical examiner determined that he died as a result of an accidental drowning."

That answer has not satisfied Rivera's family. They are skeptical of the results of the investigation. But police are done with the case.

They described Rivera as a bright young man who was studying at Hillsborough Community College and dreamed of becoming a lawyer.

"He loved life. He loved friends. He loved food," Vazquez said. "It wasn't fair the way he died."

Contact Dan Sullivan at dsullivan@tampabay.com or (813) 226-3386. Follow @TimesDan.