Cadillac killer: Arizona man who ran over stepdaughter's boyfriend TWICE and killed him and then tried to run down the 23-year-old's father and brother gets 20 years in jail

  • Michael Anthony Rivera, 50, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder by running over Nicholas Gerenscer with his Cadillac in November 2011 in front of the boy's home while his father watched
  • Police say the incident resulted from bad blood between the two families
  • The sentencing feels like closure but won't bring back her son, the Gerenscer's mother said

By Mail Online Reporter and Associated Press

Published: 07:59 EST, 8 September 2014 | Updated: 10:54 EST, 8 September 2014

A 50-year-old Arizona man who killed his stepdaughter's boyfriend after running over him twice with his Cadillac received a sentence of 20 years in prison for second-degree murder.

Michael Anthony Rivera must also serve a 10-year sentence concurrently for attempted first-degree murder for also trying to run down Nicholas Gerenscer's father and brother. 

Rivera pleaded guilty in July to committing the acts, which occurred in November 2011 in front of the Gerenscer family's home in Kingman, Arizona. 

Nicholas Gerenscer, pictured at right, was killed in November 2011 after Michael Anthony Rivera ran him over twice in front of his own home

Nicholas Gerenscer, pictured at right, was killed in November 2011 after Michael Anthony Rivera ran him over twice in front of his own home

Authorities say there was bad blood between the families of Rivera and Gerenscer that extended back to California, the Kingman Daily Miner reported. 

Less than a month after the murder, Gerenscer's cousin, Jesse Camacho, and two accomplices assaulted one of Rivera's daughters and her boyfriend during a home invasion. 

Rivera received a 20-year sentence for second-degree murder for twice running over 23-year-old Nicholas Gerenscer in November 2011. The relatively minor sentence resulted from a plea deal he made just before a trial was set to begin in July

Rivera received a 20-year sentence for second-degree murder for twice running over 23-year-old Nicholas Gerenscer in November 2011. The relatively minor sentence resulted from a plea deal he made just before a trial was set to begin in July

Camacho pleaded guilty and is serving six years in jail.  

The father, Nick Gerenscer Sr, admitted to being a gang member, but his son wasn't, his mother tearfully told the court. 

'Somebody said he's a gang member. That's BS. Little Nick had a big mouth, but Little Nick was not a gang member,' Renee Ceniceros said. 'My son didn't want to hurt nobody.' 

While Ceniceros was hoping for a first-degree murder trial, Rivera accepted a plea deal in July, just days before the trial was set to begin. 

The sentencing feels like closure but won't bring back her son, she said. 

'He's dead and we've got to keep marching, which is unfortunate for us,' she said. 'I'll never get to see the man my son might have been except for you.' 

Some witnesses said the Gerenscer family provoked the situation, according to the Daily Miner. 

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