Lindy Jones, who is not the man the authorities say fired the fatal shot, was charged with possessing and defacing a weapon. The other man involved in the shooting has not been charged.
By Claire Fahy
Mar 27, 2024
A 41-year-old man was charged on Wednesday in connection with the fatal shooting in Queens of Police Officer Jonathan Diller two days ago.
The man, Lindy Jones, 41, was sitting in the driver's seat of a car that Officer Diller was inspecting when he was shot and killed. A man in the passenger seat, Guy Rivera, 34, fired the fatal shot through the passenger-side window, the authorities said. Mr. Rivera has not been charged.
Mr. Jones faces several gun charges, including possessing and defacing a weapon, according to the police. In a news release on Wednesday, Melinda Katz, the Queens district attorney, said that an illegal firearm had been recovered after a search of Mr. Jones's car. Court records show that Mr. Jones pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to the charges brought against him in Queens Supreme Court. He also faces charges in criminal court.
His lawyer, Michael C. Anastasiou, could not be reached for comment.
According to Ms. Katz, if convicted, Mr. Jones faces up to 15 years in prison, in addition to the 15 years he faces for an unrelated gun charge from April 2023.
Mr. Jones and Mr. Rivera were illegally parked at a bus stop in the Far Rockaway neighborhood of Queens on Monday evening when Officer Diller and his partner approached the car and asked Mr. Rivera repeatedly to step out. He did not comply, and Officer Diller yelled at him to take his hands out of his pockets. Mr. Rivera then pulled out a gun and shot Officer Diller in the torso, just under his bulletproof vest. The officer was pronounced dead at Jamaica Hospital later that night.
Officer Diller's partner, Officer Veckash Khedna, returned fire and shot Mr. Rivera in the back. Mr. Rivera was also taken to Jamaica Hospital, where he underwent surgery and is likely to survive. He is expected to be charged once he recovers.
"Appropriate charges will be brought against him as soon as possible," Ms. Katz said in her Wednesday statement, referring to Mr. Rivera.
Mr. Rivera has 21 prior arrests , according to the police and State Corrections Department records, including on charges of first-degree robbery and attempted assault.
Mr. Jones was arrested on a gun charge last year, the police said. That arrest came after he spent seven years in prison for first-degree robbery and attempted murder, according to Corrections Department records.
"Less than a year, gun charge, he's back on the streets," Mayor Eric Adams said at a news conference on Monday. "Same bad people doing bad things to good people."
Chelsia Rose Marcius contributed reporting.
This article was downloaded by calibre from https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/27/nyregion/nypd-officer-shooting-charges.html
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