A Richmond man on Monday delayed entering a plea in the arson and quadruple murder case against him.
Sergio Ivan Rivera-Vega, 32, will be formally arraigned on Tue., Sept. 8 on four counts of murder-arson. He made his first court appearance in Superior Court in Martinez following his Aug. 18, 2026 arrest at the scene of a house fire at 15th Street and Macdonald Avenue in downtown Richmond.
The delay was requested by the public defenders’ office to give them more time to review the case.
Rivera-Vega, sitting behind a glass barrier, had his back to the courtroom and only spoke once, answering in the affirmative when asked by the judge if he agreed to the postponement.
People identified as friends and family members of the four people who died in the fire were present at the brief hearing but were kept away from members of the media by members of the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office who escorted them out after the hearing. They did not take any questions, and no cameras were allowed in the courtroom.
Rivera-Vega’s father Jose Rivera, 47, and his nephew Andrew, 5, died the day of the fire. His niece Joline, 2, died a few days later, and the children’s mother, who has not been identified, died Saturday morning, family members said.
If convicted, the enhancements attached to the murder charges would carry a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
Rivera-Vega was arrested at the scene shortly after officers began investigating the fatal fire.
Police said that detectives took him into custody at the scene while he stood just beyond the yellow police tape.
According to a report by NBC Bay Area, shortly after the fire Rivera-Vega was recorded on a nearby camera at the Richmond Eats building on the corner, flipping benches before sitting down next to a telephone pole.
By Sunday afternoon a large makeshift memorial was covering the sidewalk in front of the burned home.
A cluster of candles was flanked by flowers, stuffed animals and balloons and children had left messages scrawled in bright colored chalk on the sidewalk.
The four deaths bring Richmond’s 2026 homicide total to nine, according to RPD crime statistics.
