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Crime Weekly News: Man Caught With Human Leg & Officer Jonathan Diller Remembered
Crime Weekly's 18-minute overview: the quickest complete way into the case.
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On March 25, 2024, around 5:50 p.m., NYPD officer Jonathan Diller and colleagues approached a Kia Soul illegally parked at a bus stop in Far Rockaway, Queens, after a report that a man had entered the vehicle carrying a firearm. Investigators believed the occupants may have been planning to rob a nearby T-Mobile store. When officers attempted to remove passenger Guy Rivera from the vehicle, Rivera allegedly shot Diller at point-blank range in the torso, below his bulletproof vest, and then attempted to shoot Sergeant Sasha Rosen, though the gun malfunctioned. Officer Veckash Khedna, Diller's partner, returned fire and struck Rivera in the back. Diller reportedly disarmed the shooter despite his wound before being taken to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where he died following emergency surgery. He was 31 years old. Driver Lindy Jones was removed from the vehicle and taken into custody within seconds of the shooting.
Diller, born September 15, 1992, grew up in Franklin Square, New York, played lacrosse and hockey, and graduated from SUNY Maritime College in 2014. He joined the NYPD in February 2021, was assigned to the 105th Precinct, and later joined the Queens South community response team in 2023. He had made 70 arrests and was decorated three times during his three years on the force. He was survived by his wife Stephanie and their young son, and was posthumously promoted to Detective First Grade.
Guy Rivera, 34, of Flushing, had 21 prior arrests including nine felonies dating to 2009, with prior convictions for assault, robbery, and drug possession, and a hate-crime conviction stemming from an incident while incarcerated. He was charged on March 28, 2024, with first-degree murder of a police officer, first-degree attempted murder, and criminal possession of a weapon, and faces life imprisonment without parole if convicted. Prosecutors said an X-ray during his hospitalization found a shiv concealed in his rectum.
Lindy Jones, 41, the driver, had 14 prior arrests dating to 2001, including a prior attempted murder and robbery conviction, and was out on bail at the time of the shooting on a separate weapons charge. He was charged on March 27, 2024, with counts of second- and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon after a separate loaded, defaced pistol was found in the car. He was remanded without bail and pleaded not guilty at arraignment on April 16, 2024.
Diller's death was the first killing of an NYPD officer in the line of duty since January 2022. His funeral on March 30, 2024, drew thousands of mourners, including Governor Kathy Hochul and former President Donald Trump. The case generated public debate over New York's bail and crime policies, given the suspects' extensive prior arrest records. Jury selection in Rivera's trial began on March 4, 2026.
