Albany, 19, sentenced for homicide in 2022

ALBANY, NY (NEWS10) — The Albany County Prosecutor's Office announced the sentencing of Roland Riggins, 19, of Albany, in connection with a 2022 homicide case. Riggins now faces 25 years life imprisonment.

The indictment alleged that Riggins conspired with Justin Walker and Jordan McKenzie, both of Albany, to kill Christopher Bryant on April 29, 2022, by shooting him with a handgun near Grand Street and Madison Avenue in Albany. Riggins had previously pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, and Walker and McKenzie had already been convicted and sentenced for their roles in the crime.

The district attorney's office said a relative of Christopher Bryant released a statement regarding the conviction, saying, “You took a loved one from us. He had a good heart, he was a positive person, with positive energy. We will never see him again because you took him away from his family and his two children. It's really sad that someone could do something like that and have no reason to take someone's life. That says a lot about a person. The worst part is that you didn’t even know him… now there are two lives lost; yours and his.

“Young men who come of age absolutely must be surrounded by the right influences.
This case is a tragic example of this situation,” said prosecutor David Soares. “This defendant did not simply senselessly kill a man at the direction of others; he permanently altered the course of his own life and squandered his potential.