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Queens man arraigned on gun charges in connection with NYPD officer's killing
By
Bahar Ostadan
Published Apr 16, 2024
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Bahar Ostadan / Gothamist
By
Bahar Ostadan
Published Apr 16, 2024
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About 100 police officers filled the gallery of a Queens courtroom on Tuesday as a man prosecutors say was behind the wheel when his companion shot and killed an NYPD officer last month appeared in court on gun charges.
Lindy Jones, 41, pleaded not guilty to criminal possession of a weapon and other charges. Prosecutors said Jones had a loaded pistol inside the car's glove compartment and its serial number had been scratched off. It was not the weapon used to shoot Diller, prosecutors said.
He faces up to 15 years in prison in connection with the killing of 31-year-old NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller, as well as 15 consecutive years on a separate, open gun charge from last April, according to Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz.
Diller and his partner approached a parked car in Far Rockaway on March 25 around 6 p.m, according to police. Law enforcement officials said the man in the passenger seat, Guy Rivera, then shot Diller below his protective vest, and Diller’s partner returned fire and shot Rivera in the back. Diller was pronounced dead that night, and Rivera was brought to the hospital in stable condition, police said.
The NYPD has not yet explained the details of the interaction between the officers and the men in the car. Police have said the officers asked at least one of the men to exit the vehicle, but have not explained why.
Rivera was charged with first-degree murder and faces a potential life sentence without parole.
Prosecutors said in court on Tuesday that Jones claimed after the shooting that police had “no reason to search” the car.
In the shooting's aftermath, police union officials blamed the criminal justice system for letting repeat offenders out of jail. Jones was in prison for 10 years beginning in 2003 for robbery and attempted murder, according to state records and prosecutors.
“Shame on some of these judges who continue to allow violent criminals back on the streets,” Patrick Hendry, president of the Police Benevolent Association, the city’s largest police union, said outside court on Tuesday.
Union officials aren’t the only ones blaming Diller’s death on criminal justice reform. Former President Donald Trump, who attended Diller’s wake, told reporters outside the funeral home that “we have to get back to law and order.”
Diller was a member of the NYPD’s Community Response Team, the unit of plainclothes officers in polo shirts and khakis who drive unmarked cars and are tasked with responding to quality-of-life concerns. The unit was established in 2022 by NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Operations Kaz Daughtry and NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell, and has faced criticism for pursuing dangerous and sometimes fatal car chases to get guns off the street.
Michael Gennaco, a former federal civil rights prosecutor and founder of the Office of Independent Review, a police accountability and oversight group, said the NYPD uses car searches, like the one that left Diller dead, to recover guns.
“It’s a heck of a way to develop a gun strategy,” he previously told Gothamist. “The tragedy of losing an officer isn’t worth getting a gun off the street.”
Tagged
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queens
Bahar Ostadan
Bahar Ostadan covers the NYPD and public safety. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or message Bahar on Signal at 646-740-7335.
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