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Man who fired at police officers in Jackson Heights gets 20 years to life

police car
File photo

After shooting at two cops in Queens 2011, a Manhattan resident will get jailed for 20 years to life after pleading guilty to two counts of first-degree attempted murder.

On Dec. 2, 2011, in Jackson Heights, two uniformed police officers, Stephen Danisi and Matthew Ferrara, were on a foot patrol when a passerby alerted them to a suspicious man. Antonio Olmeda, who is now 57, was wearing a trenchcoat, fedora, glasses and a fake beard. Police officers approached him at 37-55 76th St. and attempted to question him and asked him to remove his hands from his pockets. Olmeda refused to comply and Officer Danisi then put his hands on his shoulders to restrain him.

Olmeda then pulled out his gun and fired three shots, which the officers evaded by ducking, and fled.

The officers chased Olmeda and found the glasses, fake beard and fedora in the vicinity of 77th Street and Roosevelt Avenue.

The glasses and other parts of his disguise were submitted for DNA testing and came back as a match for Olmeda, who had a DNA sample on file in the New York State DNA Index System.

A few weeks later on Dec. 19, 2011, Olmeda was arrested in his van on East 16th Street in Manhattan. A .38-caliber revolver with two live rounds of ammunition was found in the vehicle, along with three used .38-caliber shell casings.

“This case underscores the real dangers that police officers face every day on the job. The defendant opened fire in broad daylight on the streets of Queens,” said District Attorney Richard A. Brown.