Jury to begin deliberations in murder trial of man accused of killing NYPD detective
KEW GARDENS, Queens (WABC) -- Closing arguments began Tuesday afternoon in the trial of the man charged with murdering NYPD Det. Jonathan Diller in Queens in 2024.
Police say Guy Rivera was in the passenger seat of a car when he pulled a gun and shot Diller through the window.
Defense attorneys for Rivera addressed the jury first, in nearly two hours of closing arguments in the first-degree murder trial connected to the March 2024 shooting death of Det. Diller.
"They have a motive to lie. A member of their team was shot," said Rivera's defense attorney Jamal Johnson.
After more than three weeks, and more than 30 witnesses, with dozens of NYPD officers packing the Queens County courthouse everyday, the trial is now coming to an end.
"Rivera made a bad decision. Rivera had a gun. Rivera had a gun in pocket. But that bad decision doesn't make him guilty of murder," Johnson said.
Cameras were allowed in the courtroom on Tuesday, but attorneys could not be videotaped while addressing the jury.
Rivera's attorney asked the jury to focus on a lesser charge of aggravated manslaughter, arguing it was the actions of Diller's partner that led to the 31-year-old's death, not Rivera.
Proving or disproving intent, consequential in the first-degree murder case against the 36-year-old, could mean a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted.
Prosecutors held up the 380 handgun used in Diller's death, telling jurors it was Rivera's decision to walk around with an illegal, loaded gun, and grab it when he was instructed not to reach in his pocket, which legally proves intent.
Closing arguments wrapped up around 4 p.m. on Tuesday.
The jury will return Wednesday morning, when they will be instructed on how to deliberate on the charges before them. They will begin deliberations shortly after.
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