Jury acquits man of murder charge in fatal shooting of NYPD detective; finds him guilty of manslaughter and other charges
Guy Rivera was on trial for the killing of NYPD Detective Jonathan Diller.
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A jury has reached a mixed verdict in the trial of a man accused of killing NYPD Detective Jonathan Diller, following some courthouse confusion that sent jurors back for additional deliberations before they returned and reaffirmed their original decision.
Jurors initially indicated they had reached a verdict, which was read aloud in court by the foreperson.
The foreperson said the jury found 36-year-old Guy Rivera not guilty of murder in the first degree, but guilty of aggravated manslaughter, attempted murder and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon.
As each juror was asked to confirm the verdict, juror No. 5 responded “No,” surprising a packed courtroom that included the detective’s tearful widow, Stephanie Diller.
The judge then conferred with attorneys and directed jurors back to deliberate.
Shortly after, the jury sent a note asking how many days they'd be kept if they didn't come to a unanimous verdict on Wednesday.
"This shooting wasn't accidental," said Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, "And it wasn't impulsive. Guy Rivera was not only armed with an illegal weapon — he was ready and willing to use it."
Patrick Hendry, president of the NYC police Benevolent Association, said after the verdict, "These police officers know behind me that this was Murder 1 on a New York City police officer — no doubt about it."
The jury sent two notes to the judge during the first deliberation. The first was a request to watch the prosecution's 18-minute-long compilation video of the moments before, during and after Diller was shot. The second note asked for legal specifics pertaining to some of the charges.
Diller of Massapequa Park, Long Island, was shot and killed in the line of duty two years ago in Queens. He is survived by his wife and young son.
During summations, prosecutor John Kosinski told jurors that Guy Rivera "chose the deadliest of choices" and said his choices were "intentional," while defense attorney Jamal Johnson said, "there’s no evidence that Mr. Rivera set out to kill an NYPD police officer."
Rivera is expected to be sentenced on April 27 and faces up to 90 years to life in prison.
The second suspect in this case — Lindy Jones — still needs to be tried for his alleged role.
