Trial date set for pair accused in killing of NYPD Det. Jonathan Diller, of Massapequa Park

A Queens state judge Tuesday set March 4 for jury selection in the trial of two men charged in connection with the 2024 killing of NYPD Det. Jonathan Diller, of Massapequa Park.

Guy Rivera, the man accused of shooting and killing Diller on March 25, 2024, in Far Rockaway, and Lindy Jones, who was charged with weapons possession, appeared for a brief hearing in Queens State Supreme Court in Kew Gardens before Justice Michael Aloise.

Aloise made no mention of how long he expected jury selection to take. Based on past cases in the Queens courthouse, it could be a few days, perhaps longer, because of the notoriety of the case. Aloise also said he expected to release his decision by Feb. 10 on pretrial motions involving defense attempts to suppress certain evidence.

Rivera, 34, of Queens, was indicted on charges of first- and second-degree murder, accused of shooting Diller, 31, as the detective took part in an anti-crime operation in Far Rockaway, according to the NYPD. Diller, a member of an NYPD community response team in Queens, suspected Rivera had a firearm and approached him as he sat in a Kia Soul parked illegally, police said. Diller and Rivera then struggled and Rivera fired one shot from a handgun, striking Diller fatally in the abdomen, police said.

After Diller was shot, another officer on the opposite side of the Kia fired twice, hitting Rivera once in the back, according to investigators. Jones, who was sitting in the driver’s seat, was not injured.

Jones, also from Queens, faces a weapons possession charge after police found a defaced handgun in the glove compartment of the car, the NYPD said. In October, Jones, who has a prior conviction for attempted murder, was acquitted by a Queens jury of a separate weapons possession charge.

At the time of the shooting Diller, a three-year veteran officer from Massapequa Park who was married and had a 1-year-old son, was wearing his protective vest but the fatal round passed under it, according to police.

Diller’s death was the first line of duty killing of an NYPD officer since Wilbert Mora, 27, and Jason Rivera, 22, were fatally shot in January 2022 after responding to a domestic violence call in Manhattan. At his funeral, Diller, was promoted to the rank of detective first grade.

Both Rivera and Jones have been in custody since their arrests in March 2024. Defense attorneys requested that Rivera be placed in protective custody.

Also in attendance Tuesday were nearly two dozen police officers and Police Benevolent Association president Patrick Hendry.

By Anthony M. DeStefano

tony.destefano@newsday.comtonynewsday

Anthony M. DeStefano has been a reporter for Newsday since 1986 and covers law enforcement, criminal justice and legal affairs from its New York City offices.