Two defendants have been sentenced to probation for their roles in a 2023 shooting that left 6-year-old Onyx Sands paralyzed from the waist down. Shelby Bisconer and Jonathan Rivera each received five years of probation after pleading guilty to five counts of complicity to wanton endangerment.
Jefferson County Judge Susan Gibson imposed the sentences, according to WDRB. Bisconer’s sentence is to be held in abeyance and diverted for five years, the station reported.
How the Shooting Unfolded
The shooting occurred July 10, 2023, two days after Onyx turned 6. Police said her father followed a group of motorcyclists onto University Boulevard after an earlier encounter and drove into Rivera’s motorcycle. According to WDRB+WAVE, police attributed the ensuing gunfire to Rivera and Bisconer, who allegedly shot at the SUV carrying two adults and three children.
Police said a third motorcyclist, Edward Sark, also fired into the SUV. He is accused of firing the shot that struck Onyx and left her paralyzed from the waist down, according to WDRB+WAVE.
Statewide Context on Child Firearm Injuries
For broader context, FOX 56, citing the Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center, reported that 154 Kentucky children aged 12 and under were hospitalized for gun-related incidents over a five-year period. The statewide figure measures hospitalizations, not the circumstances of this shooting, and does not explain what happened to Onyx.
Guilty Pleas Came in Stages
The two defendants entered their pleas at different points in the case. Rivera pleaded guilty to the five complicity counts in August 2025. Bisconer pleaded guilty the day before her trial was scheduled to begin in April this year, according to the same report.
Rivera's case had an added federal component. He was arrested near the shooting scene on suspicion of possessing a handgun as a convicted felon and was later federally indicted on that charge, per a report from WDRB+WAVE, separate from the state complicity counts tied to the shooting itself.
Sark's Plea and Dismissed Charge
Sark pleaded guilty Oct. 23 to assault, four counts of wanton endangerment and trafficking in marijuana while in possession of a firearm. Prosecutors dismissed an attempted-murder charge as part of the plea agreement, according to the station.
Sark is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 19, 2027. His sentencing remains pending after Bisconer and Rivera received their probation terms.
