Five-year sentence for driver of car involved with fatal shooting of Det. Jonathan Diller

The Queens man behind the wheel of a car that figured in the shooting death of NYPD Det. Jonathan Diller in 2024 was sentenced to 5 years in state prison Tuesday on a charge of criminal possession of a weapon.

Lindy Jones, 43, didn’t fire any shots on March 25, 2024, when his co-defendant Guy Rivera fatally gunned down Diller. But because he was in the car in which police found an unlicensed handgun not used in the shooting, Jones pleaded guilty last month to the weapons charge and was sentenced before Queens State Supreme Justice Michael Yavinksy.

Jones was seen on police body camera videos as he sat in the driver's seat of a Kia Soul and argued with officers while Diller was trying to get Rivera, seated in the passenger seat, to exit the car. Diller and his partner, Sgt. Sasha Cohen, suspected Rivera was carrying an illegal handgun.

Rivera balked for several seconds and then is seen on police videos suddenly bolting out the passenger side door. He fired his handgun and fatally struck Diller in the abdomen. Diller died a short time later at a hospital.

Immediately after the shooting, other officers grabbed Jones out of the car as police frantically tried to give aid to Diller. Rivera, 36, was convicted in early April of aggravated manslaughter in the slaying of Diller, who lived with his wife, Stephanie, and the couple’s young son, Ryan, in Massapequa Park. In late April, Justice Michael Aloise sentenced Rivera to 115 years to life in prison. The jury in Rivera’s case couldn’t agree on the top charge of first-degree murder.

Jones, who had a previous conviction for robbery and attempted murder, made no statement before he was sentenced. Officials noted that Diller’s sister and brother were in court but they couldn’t be reached later for comment.

"Lindy Jones made the deliberate decision to possess a loaded, defaced and unregistered firearm in March 2024 as he drove through the streets of Far Rockaway," Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement. "Tragically, Detective Jonathan Diller was killed in the line of duty."

Diller, 31, was on a special community police patrol aimed at finding illegal handguns when he was killed. Outside the courthouse, Police Benevolent Association president Patrick Hendry stressed the loss that other officers feel over Diller’s death.

"The pain won't go away for police officers," Hendry said. "Jonathan touched life, after life, after life. ... We want everyone in this city and community to know that Jonathan wanted to help them."

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.