By MES Dispatch Staff
The Briefing
- Lindy Jones, 44, was sentenced to five years in prison and five years of probation for criminal possession of a weapon tied to the March 2024 fatal shooting of NYPD Det. Jonathan Diller.
- Jones was driving the vehicle in Far Rockaway, Queens, when his passenger, Guy Rivera, opened fire on Diller during a traffic stop.
- A loaded, defaced 9mm pistol was found in the glove box of Jones’ car; Diller was shot with a separate weapon carried by Rivera.
- Jones pleaded guilty to the weapons charge on June 24 before Queens Supreme Court Justice Michael Yavinsky, who imposed the sentence Tuesday.
- Rivera was previously convicted at trial of aggravated manslaughter, attempted murder and gun charges in Diller’s death and was sentenced to 115 years in prison.
QUEENS, N.Y. — A driver whose passenger fatally shot NYPD Det. Jonathan Diller during a 2024 traffic stop was sentenced Tuesday to five years in prison on a weapons charge, according to Queens prosecutors.
Lindy Jones, 44, was behind the wheel of a Kia Soul in Far Rockaway when his passenger, Guy Rivera, shot and killed Diller in March 2024. A search of Jones’ vehicle turned up a loaded, defaced and unregistered 9mm pistol in the glove box; Diller was shot with a different firearm carried by Rivera, according to Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz.
Jones pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a weapon on June 24 before Queens Supreme Court Justice Michael Yavinsky, who sentenced him to five years in prison followed by five years of probation.
According to prosecutors, Diller and other officers approached the idling vehicle after spotting a gun-shaped bulge in Rivera’s sweatshirt. As officers ordered Jones and Rivera out of the car, Rivera drew a .380-caliber pistol and shot Diller. Rivera then allegedly pointed the weapon at an NYPD sergeant, but it jammed.
Jones told police at the time that he had picked up Rivera as a hitchhiker and had met him only the day of the shooting, according to Queens Assistant District Attorney Gabriel Reale.
Rivera was convicted in April of aggravated manslaughter, attempted murder and weapons charges following a three-week trial and was later sentenced to 115 years in prison.