{"id":11817,"date":"2025-10-22T10:48:33","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T10:48:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/11817\/"},"modified":"2025-10-22T10:48:33","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T10:48:33","slug":"thug-accused-of-killing-nypd-hero-cop-jonathan-diller-cowers-from-grieving-moms-gaze","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/11817\/","title":{"rendered":"Thug accused of killing NYPD hero cop Jonathan Diller cowers from grieving mom’s gaze"},"content":{"rendered":"

The mourning mom of slain NYPD hero cop Jonathan Diller glared at her son\u2019s accused killer<\/a> in a Queens courtroom Tuesday \u2014 but the thug didn\u2019t have the guts to look her in the face.<\/p>\n

Guy Rivera, 35 \u2014 who allegedly fatally gunned down the 31-year-old officer and married dad during a 2024 car check in Queens \u2014 wore a surgical mask and crouched down for the procedural hearing, refusing to face mom Fran Diller, who had dozens of New York\u2019s Finest there supporting her.<\/p>\n

Guy Rivera, 35, ducks behind a computer scene in Queens court Tuesday. Dennis A. Clark<\/p>\n

Fran Diller, the mom of slain hero NYPD cop Jonathan Diller, repeatedly tries to make eye contact with her son\u2019s accused killer in court Tuesday. Dennis A. Clark<\/p>\n

Rivera even had to be told repeatedly to pull down his face mask so witnesses on the stand could identify him.<\/p>\n

The hearing was part of a \u201cDunaway\u201d proceeding before a murder trial that establishes whether police had probable cause to approach and arrest a defendant. <\/p>\n

As part of Tuesday\u2019s hearing, three NYPD cops testified about a troubling incident after Rivera was shot and wounded in the fatal confrontation outside a T-Mobile store and taken to the hospital \u2014 with a 4-inch shiv in his rectum.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was guarding the prisoner at Jamaica Hospital,\u201d Officer Hector Lugo recalled. \u201cA female doctor came up to me in the hallway and said she had seen something in his x-rays. There was something in his rectum.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe door to his room was open,\u201d Lugo said. \u201cIt looked like [Rivera] was trying to take out the object. I said, \u2018Calm down\u2019. He said, \u2018Yeah, I have another weapon up there. I don\u2019t want to do the operation. I can get it out myself. I don\u2019t want anyone else\u2019s hand up there.\u2019 <\/p>\n

How The Post covered the March 25, 2024, shooting death of Diller in Queens. New York Post<\/p>\n

Diller\u2019s widow, Stephanie, and the couple\u2019s 1-year-old son, Ryan, attend the hero cop\u2019s funeral. James Keivom<\/p>\n

\u201d \u2018I\u2019ll shoot it out like it\u2019s a Pop-Tart.\u2019 \u201c<\/p>\n

Police have said Rivera likely hid the blade \u2014 which was wrapped in a blue balloon \u2014 in his rectum in anticipation that he might end up getting arrested that night and need to smuggle the weapon into jail with him. Law-enforcement sources have said they believe he and a cohort planned to rob the cell-phone store.<\/p>\n

Diller, who was posthumously promoted to detective<\/a>, had been on duty in Far Rockway when he spotted Rivera and alleged accomplice and driver Lindy Jones suspiciously sitting in a parked Kia Soul outside the store and went over to question them.<\/p>\n

Rivera refused to cooperate with the cop, and when Diller finally got the door open, the career criminal allegedly opened fire, striking the married father of a 1-year-old boy and mortally wounding him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m shot!\u201d Diller is heard screaming on disturbing bodycam footage<\/a> as he writhed in pain.<\/p>\n

FDNY paramedic Jonathan Billian said in court Tuesday that Rivera was drunk and had liquor bottles falling out of his coat at the scene. Dennis A. Clark<\/p>\n

Rivera is facing murder charges in the heinous case. Dennis A. Clark<\/p>\n

Rivera was shot and wounded as Diller\u2019s partner returned fire. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe suspect was shot,\u201d FDNY paramedic Jonthan Billian testified Tuesday. \u201cAn officer was holding him up. I cut off his jacket and his shirt. He had an ID card in his wallet. It was Guy Rivera.\u201d <\/p>\n

Billian said Rivera appeared drunk and had liquor bottles falling out of his coat.<\/p>\n

Diller poses with his little boy at a fancy event. Facebook\/Jean O’Donnell<\/p>\n

Rivera and co-defendant Lindy Jones<\/a> are both charged in Diller\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

Diller\u2019s mom has been in court two dozen times to face Rivera since his arrest. <\/p>\n

NYPD Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry said outside the courtroom Tuesday, \u201cOur criminal justice system is broken. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt needs to change, it needs to hold criminals accountable,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey had multiple firearms, they were drinking, they were in a car, they were planning their next act, they weren\u2019t afraid to get caught,\u201d Hendry said of the slay suspects. \u201cThey weren\u2019t afraid to commit a crime because they thought if they did, they\u2019d be back on the streets. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis time they aren\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

The judge has yet to make a ruling on the issues brought up in the proceeding.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The mourning mom of slain NYPD hero cop Jonathan Diller glared at her son\u2019s accused killer in a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11818,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[9390,57,9,24,63,103,9391,242,122,124,123,58],"class_list":{"0":"post-11817","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-queens","8":"tag-jonathan-diller","9":"tag-metro","10":"tag-new-york","11":"tag-new-york-city","12":"tag-nyc","13":"tag-nypd","14":"tag-police-heroes","15":"tag-police-shootings","16":"tag-queens","17":"tag-queens-headlines","18":"tag-queens-news","19":"tag-us-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11817","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11817"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11817\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11818"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11817"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11817"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11817"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}