DRIVER OF CAR IN SHOOTING DEATH OF NYPD DET. JONATHAN DILLER SENTENCED TO FIVE YEARS IN PRISON FOR ILLEGAL FIREARM

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Lindy Jones was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to a weapon possession charge for a 9 mm pistol found in the glove compartment of the car he was driving. Jones was behind the wheel of the vehicle on March 25, 2024, when his passenger, Guy Rivera, shot and killed NYPD Detective Jonathan Diller using a different gun.

District Attorney Katz said: "Lindy Jones made the deliberate decision to possess a loaded, defaced and unregistered firearm in March 2024 as he drove through the streets of Far Rockaway. Tragically, Detective Jonathan Diller was killed in the line of duty when he was shot and killed with another illegal weapon possessed by co-defendant Guy Rivera. The scourge of gun violence is devastating our families and communities. Working with our law enforcement partners, we are united in our efforts to investigate, arrest and prosecute those who bring these dangerous weapons into our neighborhoods. I thank the members of my Homicide Bureau for securing this plea and sparing Detective Diller's family and friends from having to relive that terrible day again during another trial."

Jones, 44, of Edgemere, pleaded guilty on June 24 to criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, the top count of the indictment against him. Supreme Court Justice Michael Yavinsky sentenced the defendant today to five years in prison to be followed by five years of post-release supervision.

Jones' codefendant, Guy Rivera, 36, was convicted on April 1 of aggravated manslaughter in the first degree, attempted murder in the first degree and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree in connection with the killing of Detective Diller and the attempted killing of Sergeant Sasha Rosen and was sentenced to 115 years to life in prison on April 27.

Detective Diller was an officer at the time of his murder and was posthumously promoted to the rank of detective.

District Attorney Katz said that, according to the court and charges, on March 25, 2024, at approximately 5:45 p.m., Jones was walking alongside Rivera when a police sergeant noticed a gun-shaped bulge in the front pocket of Rivera's sweatshirt.

Jones entered the driver's seat of a 2016 Kia Soul parked in front of 19-19 Mott Avenue in Far Rockaway and Rivera got into the passenger seat.

Detective Diller and the other members of his team approached the vehicle. Diller issued numerous commands to Rivera to roll down his window and step out of the vehicle, which Rivera ignored.

Jones also refused an order to unlock the vehicle and another officer reached into the car through an open window and unlocked the doors from the driver's side control panel. Detective Diller then opened the passenger side door and instructed Rivera to exit the vehicle.

Instead of stepping out from the vehicle, Rivera reached into his pocket with his right hand, ignored repeated commands to stop, drew a .380-caliber semi-automatic pistol and fired at Detective Diller, killing him. After shooting Detective Diller, Rivera pointed his gun directly at Sergeant Rosen's chest and pulled the trigger, but the gun jammed.

Jones and Rivera were apprehended at the scene immediately following the shooting.

The next day, as part of an ongoing investigation, members of the Queens District Attorney's office and the 101^st Police Precinct obtained a court-authorized search warrant for the car.

During the warrant search, police discovered a loaded 9 mm pistol inside the glove compartment. The firearm was defaced, with the serial number scratched off.

Assistant District Attorney Gabriel J. Reale of the District Attorney's Homicide Bureau prosecuted the case with the assistance of Assistant District Attorney Kenneth Zawistowski, Assistant Deputy Bureau Chief, also of the Homicide Bureau, as well as Assistant District Attorney Natasha Levy, of the District Attorney's Violent Criminal Enterprises Bureau, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys John Kosinski, Homicide Bureau Chief, Karen Ross and Jonathan Selkowe, Deputy Chiefs, and under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Major Crimes Shawn Clark.