Press Release

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Lindy Jones was arraigned today on weapons charges after a court-ordered search warrant executed on his vehicle found an illegal firearm. Jones was behind the wheel of the car from which the shot that killed NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller was fired on Monday. Jones’ passenger in the car at the time of the shooting, Guy Rivera, is hospitalized and in police custody.

District Attorney Katz said: “My office will continue working around the clock to seek justice on behalf of Officer Diller’s loved ones, his NYPD family and in honor of his selflessness and courage. A young police officer and father was ruthlessly gunned down in the line of duty, protecting and serving the city of New York. The alleged shooter, Guy Rivera, remains hospitalized and in police custody. Appropriate charges will be brought against him as soon as possible. Today, we have charged Lindy Jones with criminal possession of a weapon for an illegal firearm found in his car.”

Jones, 41, of Rockaway Beach Boulevard in Edgemere, was arraigned on a four-count complaint charging him with two counts each of criminal possession of a weapon in the second and third degrees.

Jones faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted on the current charges, in addition to 15 years on a separate open weapons charge from April 2023. Criminal Court Judge Maria Gonzalez ordered Jones to return to court on March 29.

According to the charges:

• On March 25, at approximately 5:45 p.m., in front of 19-19 Mott Avenue, Jones was seen by police officers sitting in the driver’s seat of a 2016 Kia Soul.

• On March 26, 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 vehicle.

• The execution of the warrant led to the discovery of a loaded 9mm pistol inside the glove compartment.

• The firearm was found to be defaced, with the serial number scratched off.

• A review of Jones’ arrest record indicated a prior attempted murder conviction in 2002, elevating one of the present charges against him to criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, up from criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree.

The investigation was conducted by detectives from the 101^st Police Precinct in partnership with the Queens District Attorney’s office.

Assistant District Attorney Gabriel J. Reale, of the District Attorney’s Career Criminal Major Crimes Bureau, with the assistance of Assistant District Attorney Jaggnoor Lali, of the District Attorney’s Homicide Bureau, is prosecuting the case, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys John Kosinski, Bureau Chief, and Karen Ross, Deputy Bureau Chief, and under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Major Crimes Shawn Clark.