Man convicted in 2022 Bronx pharmacy attack seeks $1M over a Rikers shower fall

A man convicted in connection with a fatal 2022 attack inside a Bronx pharmacy wants $1 million from New York City. In a petition filed in Bronx Supreme Court, he says he slipped and fell while showering on Rikers Island.

The 2022 daytime shooting killed Avanti Frowner, 27, a Los Angeles-based rapper who went by Money Gang Vontae. Four men were indicted, and River Jones, then 18 and a student at Monroe College, was one of them. He initially faced a second-degree murder charge. According to police, Jones and two other men beat Frowner and robbed him, and then another man shot him several times.

A jury’s verdict was not murder: Jones was convicted of first-degree gang assault. Online records list him as an inmate at Gouverneur Correctional Facility, an upstate prison, where he has been held since June 25. The same records show 2029 as his parole date.

What the Rikers Island shower lawsuit claims

Court papers say the fall happened in December 2025, while Jones was held at the George R. Vierno Detention Center on Rikers. He claims he suffered serious injuries across his whole body, including his head, neck and face, and he blames the city and the jail for not putting mats down in the shower area.

Medical records point to a broken elbow

Medical records filed in court describe a narrower injury: a broken elbow. The doctor who examined him noted pain in his left elbow after the fall and wrote that Jones denied any head injury, loss of consciousness or other injuries.

The records show he had surgery and was discharged with no complications.

The city Department of Correction did not respond to requests for comment. Lawyers for Jones and for the city declined to comment.