Press Release

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Marco Mosquera was sentenced today to 34 years in prison for a terrifying incident at his South Ozone Park residence in September 2021. Mosquera was convicted by a jury in December of attempted murder and other charges for provoking an angry confrontation with his then wife, an off-duty police officer, that spiraled into an armed standoff. When police officers responded to their colleague’s distress call, Mosquera barricaded himself behind the front door and fired at them with his wife’s service weapons.

District Attorney Katz said: “The defendant put the lives of his spouse and responding law enforcement officers in jeopardy with his dangerous actions. After holding his wife against her will with threats, he repeatedly shot at police officers. It is due to the victim’s bravery and the professionalism of the NYPD that tragedy was averted. The defendant will now serve a significant prison sentence.”

Mosquera, 46, of South Ozone Park, was convicted in December 2024 following a jury trial of attempted murder in the second degree, assault in the first degree, attempted assault in the first degree, kidnapping in the second degree, two counts of attempted aggravated assault upon a police officer and four counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree.

He was sentenced today by Queens Supreme Court Justice Michal Yavinsky to 34 years in prison.

According to the charges and trial testimony, Stacy Mosquera, a New York City Police Department officer, arrived at her South Ozone Park home on September 14, 2021, at approximately 6 a.m. She encountered the defendant, Marco Mosquera, her then husband, with bloodshot eyes and drinking alcohol.

Mosquera, the defendant, engaged the victim in a verbal dispute and broke household objects. While the victim was cleaning up the debris, the defendant went into the victim’s bedroom where she kept her service firearm and an off-duty firearm in a safe. The defendant emerged from the bedroom and pointed the firearms at her and said, “We are about to change the game up.”

The defendant told the victim that they were going to die that day and warned if cops responded, “things would not end well.” Despite his threats, the victim made several calls and reached 911 for emergency assistance.

Officers from the 106^th Precinct and the Emergency Service Unit responded to the home and discovered the front entrance barricaded. The defendant fired multiple shots with one shattering a glass door panel and hitting a police officer’s boot.

A responding officer established contact with the victim who bravely jumped out of a second-floor bedroom window as the defendant approached her with a gun in his hand. She fell on the concrete surface below, fracturing her left knee.

As soon as the victim landed, an officer ran in to cover them both with a large ballistic blanket designed to deflect gunfire. The defendant approached the window, pointed a black firearm and discharged the weapon in their direction. He backed away from the window and continued to fire multiple times in the direction of the responding officers.

During the exchange, the defendant sustained a gunshot wound to his forearm. After an extended period of exchanging fire with responding NYPD officers, the defendant tossed the firearms out of a window, as instructed by police. He then surrendered and was taken into police custody.

After the defendant’s arrest, officers recovered the firearms next to the house and ammunition — including a quantity of 9 mm cartridges as well as nine 9 mm casings, both inside and outside the home.

The victim was taken to a nearby hospital where she was treated for multiple fractures which required surgeries to place plates and screws in her left knee.

Assistant District Attorneys Thomas Salmon of the District Attorney’s Career Criminal Major Crimes Bureau and Casey Gingrich of Felony Trial Bureau III prosecuted the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Michael Whitney, Bureau Chief of Career Criminal Major Crimes, and Roni C. Piplani, Deputy Bureau Chief, and under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney of Major Crimes Shawn Clark.