The ex-con who allegedly boasted “I shoot people” after a passenger in his car killed NYPD cop Jonathan Diller was arraigned Tuesday – as new details were revealed in the case.
Lindy Jones, 41, was ordered held without bail on multiple charges of criminal possession of a weapon in Queens criminal court related to the deadly March 25 standoff that saw Diller killed with a single gunshot to the stomach — with prosecutors now saying the murder weapon jammed during the clash.
Jones was sitting in the driver’s seat of a parked Kia Soul when cops approached and passenger Guy Rivera opened fire on officers.
The charges against Jones, whose street name is “Killa,” are related to a 9mm pistol found in the Kia and not the gun used to kill Diller, according to the Queens District Attorney’s Office.
Jones faces up to 15 years behind bars if convicted on the current charges and an additional 15 years on a separate open weapons charge from April 2023, the DA said.
Both terms would be served consecutively.
He had allegedly admitted to cops: “My name is Lindy Jones Jr. and I shoot people,” prosecutors previously said.
Jones has at least 14 arrests on his rap sheet, including for robbery, assault and attempted murder in a 2001 case in which he was accused of shooting a man three times.
Rivera, 34, is also a seasoned criminal with 21 busts under his belt and spent five years in state prison on a drug conviction before he was released in 2021 and completed his parole in 2022.
Diller, a married dad of a 1-year-old boy, was questioning Jones and Rivera after spotting Kia parked at a bus stop on Mott Avenue in Far Rockaway when he was shot below his bulletproof vest, according to police.
“I’m shot!’’ Diller – a 3-year NYPD veteran who was promoted to detective posthumously – can be heard saying on bodycam video, a police source previously said.
The distance between Rivera and Diller was no more than 2 feet, the source said.
After shooting Diller, Rivera then aimed his gun at Sgt. Sasha Rosen, who was with the mortally injured officer, prosecutors revealed in charging documents.
Rosen pushed the gun away – while Rivera’s finger remained on the trigger and he attempted to point the .380-caliber pistol back toward the sergeant, according to the DA’s office.
The gun was loaded but jammed after firing the deadly round that struck Diller – a pivotal turn of events that prevented any further injuries, prosecutors said.
Jones was ordered by Judge Michael B. Aloise to return to court on June 12.
Rivera – who has been indicted on charges of murder in the first and second degrees, attempted murder in the first and second degrees, four counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, and criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree for the homicide – could spend the rest of his life behind bars if convicted, prosecutors said.
He is due back in court on May 7.
Diller was laid to rest after funeral services in Massapequa, following a two-day wake that drew hundreds of uniformed officers and included a visit from former President Donald Trump.
“There is no higher priority for my office than taking illegal guns off our streets to prevent the devastation they cause, whether it is the shooting of a child playing in a school yard or an NYPD officer doing his job to keep us safe,” Queens DA Melinda Katz said in a statement. “We remain steadfast in our commitment to achieve that goal and to seek justice for Detective Diller and his loved ones.”
