A South Ozone Park man is facing up to 80 years in prison after a jury in Queens Supreme Court convicted him on Monday for shooting at NYPD police officers during an armed standoff at his home.
Marco Mosquera, 46, has been found guilty of attempted murder, attempted aggravated assault of a police officer, kidnapping, and other charges stemming from a domestic violence incident in September 2021.
Mosquera threatened his then-wife, an off-duty police officer, using her service weapon and another firearm. During the ordeal, he barricaded the front door of their home at 130th Street and 133rd Avenue in Ozone Park. When officers from the 106th Precinct arrived to assist their colleague, Mosquera fired multiple shots at them.
Opening statements for the trial began on Nov. 14, and closings occurred on Dec. 11 and 12. The jury deliberated for approximately two days before reaching the guilty verdict.
“The defendant stole his wife’s firearms, threatened her life, and held a shoot-out with responding law enforcement officers,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said following the verdict.
According to the charges and trial testimony, on the morning of Sept. 24, 2021, NYPD Officer Stacy Mosquera, who was assigned to the 101st Precinct in Far Rockaway, pulled up at her home around 6 a.m. Despite the early hour, the defendant, Marco Mosquera, her then-husband, was awake inside the house, had bloodshot eyes, and was drinking alcohol. He confronted her and engaged in a verbal dispute, accusing her of having an affair. Mosquera became increasingly agitated and broke picture frames and other household items around the residence while Officer Mosquera tried to calm her husband down and clean up. While she was cleaning up, Mosquera went to a bedroom where she kept her service firearm and an off-duty firearm in a safe. Mosquera emerged from the bedroom and pointed the guns at her and said, “We are about to change the game up.” He told her that they were both going to die that day and that if cops came to the home, “things would not end well.”
Despite his threats, Officer Mosquera was able to make several calls and reached 911 for emergency assistance. Officers out of the 106th Precinct and the Emergency Services Unit responded to the home and discovered the front door was barricaded. Mosquera then fired multiple shots, with one shot shattering the glass door and striking a uniformed police officer in the boot. A responding officer established contact with Officer Mosquera by telephone and told her to exit the house. She jumped out a second-story bedroom window as the defendant approached her with a gun in his hand. She fell onto the concrete below, fracturing her left knee.
An officer immediately ran over to protect her with a large ballistic blanket designed to deflect gunfire. The defendant approached the window, pointed a black firearm in the direction of the victim and a uniformed police officer holding the ballistic blanket, and fired. He then backed away from the window and continued to fire shots multiple times in the direction of the responding officers.
During the exchange, Mosquera sustained a gunshot wound to his forearm. After an extended period of exchanging fire with responding NYPD officers, Mosquera ultimately tossed the firearms out of a window, as instructed by police. He then surrendered and was subsequently taken into police custody, ending the armed standoff.
After his arrest, officers recovered the firearms next to the house and ammunition — including a quantity of 9 mm cartridges as well as nine 9 mm casings, both inside and outside the home.
Officer Mosquera was transported by EMS to an area hospital where she was treated for multiple fractures which required surgeries to place plates and screws in her left knee. Three NYPD officers were treated at the scene for minor injuries.
“Despite her ordeal, Officer Mosquera showed remarkable grit in summoning law enforcement officers to the scene,” Katz said. “She bravely jumped from a window to save her own life and escape from the defendant.”
Queens Supreme Court Justice Michael Yavinsky, who presided over the trial, ordered Mosquera to return to court for sentencing on Jan. 24, 2025, when he faces up to 80 years in prison.
“We are grateful for the jury’s verdict in achieving justice for the victims,” Katz said.
